Government launches new guide for tenants

Mr Hopkins said that encouraging a new generation of well-informed tenants with easy access to useful and understandable information would help root out the small minority of rogues and raise the game of any landlords who don’t know what is expected of them.

Darryl Flay, chief executive of developer and operator of private rental homes Essential Living, welcomed the new guide, saying: “Many vilify rented accommodation because of stories of rogue landlords and poor conditions. This is an unfair representation, but in a sector dominated by individual, often amateur, landlords, people take what they can get because in many cases, they cannot get any better.

“We believe people deserve more and the guidelines will be helpful in empowering consumers to demand higher standards. But the solution is the provision of professionally managed rental communities, funded by major investors.

“Renting is vital to support Britain's mobile workforce, but to make better rental housing a reality, planning guidelines need to be stronger and financial viability models need to reflect the fact that building for long-term rent is not the same as traditional housebuilding.”