Although it feels like we first heard the phrase ‘Renters Reform Bill’ eons ago, it finally returned to the House of Commons for its Report Stage and Third Reading at the end of April. After a huge number of proposed amendments from all parties and a long debate, it was voted on by MPs, and it will now move up to the House of Lords for further scrutiny. The Bill sets out the Governments plans to reform the private rented sector (PRS) in England, with the White Paper first being introduced 3 years ago. Many of the Bill’s original measures continue to be included in the amended version that now goes to the House of Lords. These include:

• No blanket bans on renting to those with children or who are on benefits,
• Consent is not unreasonably withheld for tenants who request to rent with a pet,
• Strengthen grounds for possession under Section 8,
• To establish a new ombudsman to help resolve disputes between landlords and tenants more quickly,
• Rent increases will only be allowed to be implemented once per year, with a 2-month notice period.

However there have been some controversial amendments, that have, or haven’t, been included. Let’s have a look at those now.

Section 21 Evictions

The attention-grabbing headline of the Bill since it was first announced, has been the abolishment on Section 21 eviction notices, and it continues to dominate the media. From the latest Reading, it has been decided that this section of the Bill will be delayed until an assessment of the court system has been undertaken and they are deemed to be ready to handle the unavoidable increase in possession claims. This is a huge relief for the PRS, as many of the criticism to this part of the Bill is that the Courts were not prepared for the increase in Section 8 cases, and therefore no one would benefit from Section 21 notices being eliminated. The Government has promised to invest in the Courts to move many aspects of it online, including the possession service, which will hopefully allow for a quicker, easier and more cost-effective process. However, there has been no timeline offered to when this assessment will take place, leaving many campaigners, charities and the opposition unimpressed.

Selective Licensing & The Property Portal

There are no plans to scrap the current HMO or selective licensing schemes after the Bill is introduced even though many have criticised it for overlapping with the proposed Property Portal. The Government have said they will review the licensing regimes, in future looking to use it differently to target specific local issues. The Bill has also committed to aligning the ombudsman with the property portal, meaning less of a burden to landlords.

The Decent Homes Standard

The Decent Homes Standard (DHS) is the current metric used to assess the quality of homes in the social rented sector, and many expected it to be introduced to the PRS as part of the bill, however, it was a crucial point missing from the White Paper released back in 2022. Many of the oppositions proposed amendments have included changing this to include a decent homes standard, along with introducing Awaab’s Law, which currently enforces mandatory action, only for social housing landlords, to investigate and rectify damp and mould issues promptly. It was stated in the latest Reading by the housing minister that it will not be included as part of the Bill, however, will instead be reviewed within 18 months and may be included in secondary legislation.

Fixed Term Tenancies

Another one of the main opposition points of the Renters Reform Bill is the idea to scrap fixed term tenancy agreements entirely. The counter argument is that fixed term AST’s can be beneficial to both landlords and tenants, adding a level of security many tenants appreciate, especially in the case of student tenancies. However, any amendment to this seems to so far have been overlooked.

Tenant Notice Periods

As part of the Bill tenants will now not be able to give their 2 months’ notice on their lease until they have lived in the property for at least 4 months – therefore meaning they would have to reside for 6 months before they could leave. There would be exceptions to this, including death of a tenant, them being a victim of domestic violence and the landlord’s agreement to leave earlier in writing. This means landlords will have the assurance of a tenant in their property, and not have to deal with the expensive swap costs and potential void periods too often.

Response

There has been criticism that the latest amendments offer less protections for tenants, compared to its original reading. However, back when the bill had its First Reading, there was critique that the bill was unfair to landlords, and unfortunately measures that are bad for landlords ultimately turn out to be bad for tenants also.

There have been concerns that the Bill has left a hole for the minority of rogue landlords to exploit tenants.  Labour have said they would like to see:

• The minimum notice period of mandatory Section 8 grounds that have a 2-month notice period increased to 4-months,
• Removal of ground 8a for repeated rent arrears,
• Obligation to advertise rental price,
• Action to prohibit Rental bidding wars,
• Extending Awaabs Law to the PRS.

Propertymark on the other hand, a representative for the PRS, state that the Bill is still favoured more towards tenants. They have requested:

• Fixed Term tenancies where it is beneficial to both parties,
• ROPA for letting agents,
• Action to aid increase the supply of rental homes, as currently it is feared it will reduce them.

What happens next?

The question now is, "when is this likely to take effect?" Any bill the government want to make law usually takes between 9 – 12 months to pass through the houses and finally reach royal assent, however this bill has already been in the works for 24 months since it was first introduced to the house of Commons, so it is anyone’s guess how long the House of Lords will have it for. The presumption is that the conservatives will want to get it through before the next general election, so it is possible to reach Royal Assent before then. If this happens the government have said they plan to bring the reforms in, in 2 stages. The first implementation date will see the reforms be applied to all new tenancies, giving at least 6-months’ notice (so 6 months after it reaches royal assent), and then all existing tenancies will transition to the changes on the second implementation date. Realistically, we think we’re looking at Spring 2025 before the legislation would come into play at the earliest, however this is just an estimation, and we will keep you updated as and when we learn more.

You can follow the bill’s passage to becoming law here