Celebrating and closing Amplify’s Private Rented Sector Housing Group
Over the past three years, an Amplify theme group has focused on Private Rented Sector Housing. It has brought together tenants, landlords, and others to explore how we can make housing better and fairer for everyone involved.
As this group comes to a close, two members – Marie and Claire – reflect on what we’ve achieved together, and where we might go next:
We’ve spent our time together in the Housing group seeking solutions to improve the quality of private rented accommodation. We explored the issues people face – from insecure tenancies to poor living conditions. By bringing renters and landlords together, we asked: what makes a house a home?
From these conversations, five principles for making a house a home emerged:
- A home I can grow and thrive in
- A home that is safe
- A home that is stable
- A home kept in a good state of repair
- A home that is warm and inexpensive to heat
Around each, we shared our real experiences of things going right (and wrong), examined policies, and developed practical recommendations for landlords and policymakers.
Beyond our own group, we also added our voice to wider movements for change, joining the Renters Reform Coalition – a network of 21 housing organisations made up of and representing private renters to support the campaign for stronger renters’ rights in England.
Now, as the Renters’ Rights Bill makes its way through Parliament, and as changes continue to unfold in the private rented sector, we feel our small group has done what we can for now.
Throughout this journey, we’ve learned so much – about housing, and about each other. As tenants, working with landlords who genuinely want their tenants to feel safe and secure, broke down barriers and led to open, constructive conversations.
Our hope for the private rented sector, as we lay this piece of work down, is for good quality housing for everyone.
We want more landlords to treat their tenants with respect and vice versa. Being a landlord is providing a service to human beings; it’s providing them with a safe, warm space to grow and thrive. This includes the big things like affordability and security, as well as the seemingly small things, like choosing wall paint and putting up your own pictures, so you can make it a loving, safe home.
The private rented sector isn’t just about money – it’s about people.