The Renters Reform Bill was contained in the Conservative government's 2019 manifesto. The aim of the proposed Renters Reform Bill was to reform the private rental sector in England and Wales to improve tenants' rights. The bill had its third reading in the House of Commons in April 2024 – its next steps were to complete the same process in the House of Lords before it could achieve Royal Assent and become law. However, the former Conservative PM called a general election for 4 July 2024, and the Renters Reform Bill was not passed in the wash up period before Parliament was dissolved. The future of the Renters Reform Bill under the new Labour government was therefore unclear.
As part of the King's Speech on 17 July 2024, Labour confirmed that there will be a Renters Rights Bill (“the Bill”) which will give greater rights and protection to people renting their homes. The Bill is similar to the previously proposed Renters Reform Bill, but with some changes.
The briefing note to the King's Speech said that the Bill will carry out:
- The abolishment of Section 21 notices to remove the threat of arbitrary evictions and to increase tenant security and stability. Labour had previously pledged to abolish Section 21 notices on ‘day one', whereas the Conservative government had committed to reforming the Court systems beforehand.
- New expanded possession grounds under Section 8 so landlords can obtain vacant possession when they need to do so. These are thought to include when a landlord wishes to sell the property or move a family member into the Property.
- Empowering tenants to challenge rent increases designed to force them out by strengthening their rights and protections. New laws will be introduced to end the practise of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents.
- Giving tenants the right to request a pet, which landlords must consider and cannot reasonably refuse. Landlords will be able to request insurance to cover potential damage from pets if necessary. It is unknown whether guidance will be published to establish a reasonable reason to refuse or whether this will play out in Court.
- Applying a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector, to improve poor quality rental homes by ensuring they are safe, secure and hazard free.
- Applying Awaab's Law to extend the framework of rules and legal expectations surrounding timeframes within which landlords of social housing must ensure homes are free from serious and unsafe hazards, such as damp and mould.
- Creating a digital private rental sector database which will hold key information on landlords, tenants and councils. Landlords will be able to demonstrate compliance, tenants will be able to make informed choices with regard to new tenancies and councils will be able to target enforcement.
- Advocating for quicker and cheaper dispute resolution, which will prevent disputes from escalating to costly court proceedings. An ombudsman service will be introduced for the private rental sector that will provide a fair and binding resolution for landlords and tenants, reducing the need to go to Court. The lack in ability of the Court system to deal with private tenancy disputes was one of the main reasons the Renters Reform Bill was not passed under the Conservation government.
- Making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children, to ensure that no family or person is denied a home when they need one.
- Strengthening the enforcement powers of local councils. This will introduce new investigatory powers to enable councils to easily find and fine landlords breaching the new rules, with the hope of driving them out of the sector.
When these changes will be implemented remains unknown as there is currently no proposed timeline for the Bill to become law. We await to see further progress and any amendments to the contents of the Bill and shall endeavour to provide updates as and when they become available. Private landlords would do well to take stock of their properties to ascertain whether any action needs to be taken, before the Bill is enacted.
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