Capping of rent increases on referral or appeal: equality impact assessment results

Recommendations and Conclusion

This measure will affect all tenants with a PRT or an Assured Tenancy who are the subject of a rent increase and wish to refer it for rent adjudication. It will therefore have a generally positive impact on all tenants as it will remove the risk that seeking a review of a proposed rent increase might result in the rent being set above that proposed by the landlord. This may be particularly beneficial for certain groups with protected characteristics, for example disabled people, families with children, people from ethnic minorities who may be more likely to be in poverty and have existing concerns about paying their rent.

We have identified a number of areas where the differing needs of equality groups should be taken into account in implementation to the measures, for example in how the new and strengthened rights are communicated to ensure these are accessible to those protected characteristics.

Ensuring that all tenants and landlords are aware of the new rights will be an important aspect of effective implementation of this and other measures in the Bill helping to deliver better outcomes for communities.