A farewell to fair rents?

Abstract

Part I of the Housing Act 1988 is a very significant measure which seeks to revive the private rented sector of the housing market partly by removing rent regulation for most post-Act tenancies and restoring market freedom as to rents. In theory this creates a sharp divide between those tenancies governed by the 1988 Act and those pre-Act tenancies which remain subject to rent regulation under the Rent Act 1977. This article considers the legislative objective in the light of post-Act developments. It also examines the impact of the new climate on the fair rent regime and the relationship between the new market rent regime and the housing benefit system. Finally it considers whether the distinction between the fair rent and market rent regimes is in practice likely to prove more theoretical than real.