My good friend, Alex of Alex’s Archives, has sent me a link to a discussion in the GLA corridors of power on standards in the private rented sector. I haven’t finished listening to the GLA debate, but, as Alex said in his email, it does expose some “shaky understandings” of the law. Alex has written at some length about regulation of private renting, most recently about rogue landlords, and there has been the Shapps announcement in Harrogate that standards would be imposed on private rented properties for homeless households (cf his press notice last year that there would be no more red tape for private landlords; and his written answer to Parliamentary questions on 05.04.11 (at 846w-848w) that existing homelessness duties and the HHSRS already provide standards in place). It all seems a bit of a mess, to be honest, but then again, as the Law Commission exposed throughout its projects on housing reform, policy towards the private rented sector has always been a mess. What we (including landlords) need is clarity and, frankly, better understanding of legal obligations.