Renters (Reform) Bill - The Draft Bill is finally released
The Renters (Reform) Bill which was introduced to Parliament in May 2023, sets out the government's plans to fundamentally reform the private rented sector (PRS) and level up housing quality.
The Bill, as it is proposed, will be the most significant shake up of the private rented sector in England for more than 30 years.
It is interesting to note that according to the gov.uk website, the total number of privately rented properties has doubled since 2004, reaching a zenith in 2016, and remaining stable at this level. With a growing number of rented properties, The Bill aims to improve the systems to deliver a fairer, more secure, and better quality private rented sector for around 2.3 million landlords and their 11 million tenants, in England.
The proposed reforms aim to reassure and enable landlords to repossess their property more efficiently when a tenant behaves badly or should a Landlord’s circumstances change.
At the same time, in changing the current ‘no fault’ eviction legislation (known as Section 21), it aims to provide tenants with a reassurance of increased security, to know they can put down roots in a property and make it their home.
The Bill also plans to introduce to the private rental sector the Decent Homes Standard, which has been a success in the social housing sector since the early 2000’s, improving the standard of living accommodation for tenants. In introducing this into the private rental sector, this will encourage landlords to provide a better quality of housing, potentially increasing their market rents and retaining good tenants, for longer tenancy periods.
In addition to the above proposals, other elements of the Bill being considered include:
Changing the structure of fixed term tenancies to create periodic tenancies from the outset.Providing clearer and more structured systems for rent reviews during a tenancy in order for landlords to keep in line with current market rents for their long term tenancies. If needed an independent tribunal can make judgements on this for both landlords and tenantsIntroducing a new mandatory Private Rented Sector Ombudsman which will provide fair, impartial, and binding resolution to many issues. This should create a quicker, cheaper, and less adversarial resolution to that of going through the court system for tenancy issuesCreating a mandatory Privately Rented Property Portal to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance (giving good landlords confidence in their position). This will also provide better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement.Giving landlords the right to require pet insurance to cover damage to their property where a tenant has a pet – whilst equally giving tenants the right to request a pet in the property, which must be considered and not unreasonably refused.
The above only skims the surface of the suggested changes in legislation and whilst The Renters (Reform) Bill is still being debated in parliament, these proposals will undoubtedly change format before becoming law.
So when does this all come into effect? The Bill is in its very early stages of consideration, and is still required to be passed through the House of Commons and then on to the House of Lords. With this in mind, it is widely considered across the industry that the Bill will likely reach Royal Assent by Spring 2024. Furthermore, there is the belief that the government would give a lead time of 6 months before coming into force for new tenancies and a further transitionary period of up to 18 months for existing tenancies.
Vanessa, Associate Partner and Head of Lettings at Butler Sherborn, comments ‘We really do understand that these changes seem daunting and disconcerting for landlords. However as experienced with previous legislation changes, once you have adapted and learned to navigate the reforms, the Bill should put in place systems for providing a fairer industry to all involved, both landlords and tenants. We are watching closely the developments and aim to provide support and guidance to our clients, every step of the way’.
For more information on the measures in the Bill:
Tenancy reformPrivate Rented Sector OmbudsmanPrivately Rented Property PortalRenting with pets
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