Assembly Members on the Planning and Housing Committee will also be looking at the Mayor’s progress in driving up standards in the sector which reportedly receives around £400m of public funds in housing benefit payments.
Announcing the investigation Committee Chair Jenny Jones said: “The private rented sector has an increasingly important role to play in housing Londoners, but we are concerned that some of these properties are not up to standard.
“We intend to take a detailed look at the private rented sector with a view to identifying ways to ensure people get a decent home in return for the rent they – or the boroughs – are paying.”
The committee will consider the following issues:
- What is the state of London’s private rented housing?
- What main improvements are needed, and how can they be delivered?
- To what extent have the Mayor’s efforts to improve the standard of private rented housing proved successful?
- What examples are there of programmes that are having a significant impact on improving London’s private rented housing?
- Is there a need for the Mayor to drive further efforts to improve this sector?
Expert witnesses will be questioned by AMs at two public hearings on 7th June and 6th July 2011. A report will be published later this year.
