The National Trust has rejected claims that it stopped renting out its properties to avoid the growing legislative burden.

During a parliamentary debate on PRS housing standards, Greg Smith MP, shadow minister for business and trade, said Bradenham parish council was concerned that the National Trust, which owns a large number of rental properties in the village, was leaving them empty and not putting in new tenants to avoid the burdens placed on landlords.

He asked Housing Secretary Angela Rayner: “Does the Secretary of State agree that there is a balance to be struck here, and what advice can she give areas such as Bradenham, which faces being an empty village?”

At the parish council meeting last November, councillors expressed “great concern” about the rising number of National Trust properties in Bradenham that were empty and suggested it might be due to the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Return on capital

It reported that the Trust’s senior estate manager for Hughenden & Central Chilterns and Stowe Portfolios had explained at a previous meeting that properties that did not meet a required return on capital would not be made ready for rental.

However, a National Trust spokesman tells LandlordZONE: “There is no substance to claims that we are purposefully leaving homes empty because of any recent policy change. This year we are spending more than £30 million on upgrading both occupied and vacant homes.

“We are committed to meeting the standards set out by government for all residential let property.”

During the Commons debate, Angela Rayner told MPs that the government had taken action. She added: “We will ensure that empty homes are brought back into use. We make no apologies for asking that homes are of a decent and safe standard. People should be able to live in their homes without the risk of hazards that are dangerous to their health.”