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On May 17th 2023, the new English Renters Reform Bill was introduced into parliament and has been hallmarked as “the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years.” It is set to introduce multiple changes to the way the rentals market operates, with these changes having implications for both renters and landlords alike.
The main outlined plans of the bill are as followed:
• Aiming to abolish Section 21, which allows for landlords to give notice to evict tenants without reason.
• Looking at strengthening Section 8 which gives landlords the power to evict tenants if terms of their tenancy agreement are broken or they wish to change the use of their property.
• Considering making Assured Tenancies the standard as opposed to Secure Tenancies.
• Focusing on giving renters more rights to pet ownership in rental properties.
• Introducing a Decent Homes Standard to the Private Rental Sector.
• For tenants these changes give them more flexibility in deciding when the want to leave properties as they now can give notice to leave when they please rather than having a fixed deadline. Tenants are also given more security with the fact that Landlords don’t have the ability to evict tenants without reason due to the abolishment of Section 21.
• The overall quality of properties on the market will be increased as the bill aims to introduce a Decent Homes Standard meaning there will be set standards properties will have to meet before going to market. This standard previously only applied to the social housing sector and for the first time the bill aims to introduce it to the Private Rental Sector with the aim to make properties cleaner, safer, and free from health & safety hazards.
• Despite the abolishment of Section 21 the planned strengthening of section 8 will maintain landlords’ ability to provide grounds for eviction. Whilst Section 21 notices (often referred to as no-fault evictions) do not require a landlord to provide reason for eviction, section 8 is made up of certain grounds that if broken provide reason for landlords to serve eviction notices. There will be amendments to the current grounds outlined and new ones are set to be added with a focus on anti-social behaviour and repeat rent arrears. This overall will still give landlords strength and ability to evict problem tenants despite the abolishment of Section 21.
• Overall, less flexibility for landlords as they will have less power to refuse tenants less power in evicting tenants they deem to be causing issues and less power in refusing requests such as allowing pets in the property.
• These changes could see an impact on the rentals market supply as landlords are losing power in their ability to evict whom they see as problem tenants. This coinciding with the rising mortgage rates may cause landlords to decide to sell their properties rather than renting them, seeing a reduction in rentals stock. As a result of lower stock, it is highly likely to expect that overall rent prices are likely to increase with a limited amount of stock in the market.
• With no definitive date of implementation there is a level of uncertainty surrounding the bill as changes to it can still happen before it is passed. Michael Gove stated in an interview he wanted the bill to pass “as soon as possible” but the bill must go through both the House of Commons and the House of Lords before officially becoming law. This process on average takes roughly a year to finalise so many are speculating it to pass early 2024 but with no defined timeline and the looming possibility of changes to come there is cause for doubt among many.
Written By Joseph Climance
Posted by Simon on May 26th, 2010
Posted by Simon on November 8th, 2012
Interesting read, thanks for sharing.