Reward landlords who commit to longer tenancies, says Labour MP

A Labour MP has said the government should incentivise landlords to offer longer term tenancies and better security for tenants.

Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch since May 2015 and current chair of the Public Accounts Committee, put a question to Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Gauke, in the Commons to say that longer tenures and rent guarantees should be considered by the government.

Hiller suggested that the Treasury could encourage landlords to offer longer tenancies by potentially ‘using tax reliefs or other mechanisms the Treasury has in its armoury’.

Gauke’s response was evasive, and referred to the Chancellor’s announcement in November’s Autumn Statement that funds will be set aside for affordable house building.

The building of more genuinely affordable homes will go some way to helping those who are renting but who would like to own their own home.

Gauke did say, however, that ‘there is a need for flexibility in terms of tenure’ in order to help tenants.

The shortage of homes – especially affordable homes – in London is creating a generation of renters, with fewer and fewer would-be buyers unable to save enough for a deposit due to high rents.

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