In May 2019 the Government launched a consultation on a revised rent standard, to come into effect from April 2020. This is the response we made to that consultation.

Our response contains proposals around what should be included in the new rent standard, such as:

• Setting clear guidance on how consultation with tenants should be carried out by landlords on rents and service charges;
• Setting out a clear and comprehensive list of what might be included as service charges;
• A requirement for public transparency around the costs of rents and service charges and the amount that each tenant might be paying in rent towards the cost of new build and new debt;
• A requirement for landlords to publish annual data on the cost of rent and service charges compared to incomes;
• A requirement to monitor and publish annual data on the impact of a return to CPI+1% rent increases on tenants.

We note that the regulator has recently said that the ability to raise rents under the new Rent Standard will be accompanied by greater scrutiny. We have yet to see what this means and whether anything we suggested has been heard.