More than 65 people from across Hampshire and the Solent came together in Winchester on 10 July for an event led by Professor Helen Carr and Dr Mark Jordan from the University of BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载’s School of Law, organised in conjunction with our Civic University team.
The event ‘Renters’ Rights – Understanding the impact of new legislation’ provided an opportunity to learn how upcoming legislation for the private rented housing sector will impact the role and actions for housing authorities in the region. The new Bill aims to transform the experience of private renting and will be the biggest change for the sector in decades.
Delegates from nearly all local authorities in the Hampshire and the Solent region were able to acquire insights from several legal and housing experts, including a representative of Government in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), who ensured that participants were up to date and empowered to navigate the upcoming legislation.
Sue Littlemore, Director Civic University, said:
“The challenge of ensuring high quality private rented housing is a real issue for local authorities across Hampshire and the Solent. As a Civic University for the region, we aim to mobilise our outstanding research expertise and insights to help transform lives and livelihoods across our area. BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载 local authority partners tell us unsafe, unhealthy and unpleasant living conditions blight the lives of too many in our region and we were delighted to bring academic and sector experts together with local authorities to learn how together we can address the challenge.”
Professor Helen Carr, Professor of Property Law & Social Justice, commented:
“The Renters’ Rights Bill when enacted will implement the biggest transformation of the relationship between landlords and tenants since the 1980s.? The Bill places extensive responsibilities on local authorities. This conference helped bring home the scale of the challenge but also provided a positive opportunity for attendees to hear how the University of BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载 can provide help with our extensive expertise in housing, homelessness and property law.”
Samantha Hall, Head of Housing & Environmental Health, Test Valley Borough Council added:
“The Renters’ Rights Bill is an opportunity to transform the private rented sector, setting decent home standards and creating more stability.? The proposed changes are significant, it is important to us to support both landlords and tenants to understand their new responsibilities and continue to have a thriving private rented sector.? This event provided great knowledge sharing which will help shape our delivery plans as well as enabling me to connect with others across the region who will be working through the same challenges.”
The event builds on existing work between the University of BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载’s School of Law and BOB体育登录网址_欧宝体育官网平台-APP|下载 City Council, with the University providing expertise into their scrutiny inquiry on the private rented sector in the city. Further work with other authorities is hoped to follow on after this session.
For more information on the event and the work of the Civic University team in general, please get in touch via civicuni@soton.ac.uk