The Renters’ Rights Bill published

The Renters’ Rights Bill was published today (11/9/24) and introduces a series of reforms designed to increase protections for tenants while maintaining a balance that allows landlords to manage their properties effectively.

Here’s a breakdown of its key measures:

Abolition of Section 21 Evictions: The bill eliminates “no-fault” evictions (Section 21), moving to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic, meaning they have no fixed end date, providing tenants with greater security and the ability to challenge poor practices and unfair rent hikes without the fear of eviction.
Fair Possession Grounds: It reforms possession grounds to ensure they are fair to both tenants and landlords. Tenants will have more security, while landlords will still be able to recover their property in reasonable circumstances, like if they need to sell or move in. Additional safeguards protect tenants from misuse of these grounds.
Stronger Protections Against Unfair Rent Increases: The bill allows tenants to challenge excessive rent increases aimed at forcing them out, with independent tribunals able to intervene if rents are unfairly raised above market rates.
Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman: This will be a new independent body to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants quickly and fairly, with decisions that are binding, similar to the system used for social housing.
Private Rented Sector Database: A database will be created for landlords, allowing them to demonstrate compliance with legal obligations. Tenants can use this to make informed decisions, and it will aid councils in targeting enforcement.
Pet-Friendly Provisions: Landlords will have to consider tenants’ requests for pets and cannot unreasonably refuse them. To mitigate concerns, landlords will be able to request pet insurance to cover any potential damage caused by pets.
Decent Homes Standard: The bill will apply the same quality standards required for social housing (Decent Homes Standard) to the private rented sector, ensuring that rental homes meet safety and quality benchmarks.
Awaab’s Law: This measure requires landlords to address serious hazards in rental properties within legally defined timeframes to ensure tenant safety, inspired by tragic cases where unsafe conditions led to harm.
Anti-Discrimination: Landlords and letting agents will be prohibited from discriminating against tenants based on benefits or having children, ensuring fairer access to housing for all.
End to Rental Bidding: The bill makes it illegal for landlords or agents to accept or solicit bids over the advertised rent, ensuring transparency and fairness in the rental process.
Local Authority Enforcement: New measures expand local authorities’ powers to enforce regulations, with civil penalties and requirements to report on enforcement activities, ensuring that standards are upheld.
Strengthened Rent Repayment Orders: The bill strengthens rent repayment orders by extending them to cover superior landlords (those who sublet their properties), doubling the maximum financial penalty for violations, and ensuring that repeat offenders are required to repay the full amount owed.

The Government has stated that these reforms aim to create a fairer, more secure, and regulated private rented sector in the UK, improving conditions for tenants while allowing landlords to retain reasonable control over their properties.

The Bill can be seen here, and accompanying guide here.

Industry comments:

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman, says: “As the ending of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions in particular has been in the pipeline for so long, the impact on the market will be relatively limited.

“Many of the landlords who were worried about the change – and mainly ‘accidental’ landlords – have either sold long ago or are in the process of selling. Others who have stayed the course have been waiting to hear the finer points of the proposed legislation before making a decision one way or the other.

“As far as we are concerned, all new housing measures need to pass the following test – ‘will the change help to address the present chronic shortage of affordable housing for sale and to let?’ We are not convinced the Renters’ Rights Bill does so in its present form.

“In our view, tenants should not have to risk losing their homes without clear and reasonable grounds whereas landlords should be able to regain possession of their properties from disruptive tenants.

“The previous government were concerned about removing Section 21 without sufficient court capacity to deal with the inevitable increase in applications.

“We wait to hear whether there will be any reduction in time required for possession hearings as part of the latest influx. In our experience, it’s not just landlords but fellow tenants who seek early eviction of difficult tenants in order to reduce uncertainty, stress and disturbance.

“A reduction in supply will only reduce choice and quality of available accommodation as well as increase upward pressure on rents.

“Overall, these measures aren’t a huge surprise and the threat of them has not seen landlords leaving the sector in their droves. It remains to be seen what is added or subtracted as the legislation progresses through Parliament. Whether the final version is seen as maintaining a reasonable balance between the interests of landlords and tenants will determine the longer-term effects on the market.”

Isobel Thomson, chief executive of safeagent, the UK’s largest not-for-profit accreditation scheme for lettings and management agents, says:

“A thriving private rented sector is vital to provide much-needed safe and secure housing for tenants. The wide-ranging measures contained in the Bill represent a major change to the way in which the sector operates, particularly with the abolition of Section 21.

“If the real change as proposed in the Bill is going to come, and confidence retained among landlords, we need to know what the infrastructure is that sits behind it and how the measures will be implemented. Councils are struggling now with existing legislation so where are the enforcement officers ready to take action when this new legislation appears?

“Safeagent firms offering a professional service to landlords and tenants are at the heart of the operation of the sector. Whatever the final outcome of the Bill, the sector has to work for all or it will not deliver the Government’s aspirations.”