Next week the Renters’ Rights Bill will enter its final stages as key amendments are considered
A huge shake-up of the housing market is in store aimed to give renters more protection. Campaigners have been lobbying the government for years for a Renters’ Rights Bill to address the power imbalance between landlords and their tenants.
Currently, landlords can use something called a Section 21 eviction notice to evict their tenants for no reason at all. Renters’ rights campaigners say this tactic is often used to get rid of tenants who have challenged their landlord over repairs, while it can also simply be done to enforce a drastic rent increase on new residents.
Ironically, this tactic was recently used by former Labour homelessness minister Rushanara Ali who evicted tenants from her Isle of Dogs property before re-listing it for £700 a month extra. Under new rules, these Section 21 notices will be banned and landlords must prove tenant wrongdoing to repossess their property.
This is generally the main crux of the bill, but it will also eradicate time limits on contracts and give tenants greater controls to bring pets into their homes. Below is a full breakdown of what to expect from the Renters’ Rights Bill.
What does the Renters’ Rights Billinclude?
Section 21 evictions abolished: This has been previously mentioned, but it essentially gets rid of ‘no-fault evictions’. Landlords can now only evict a tenant using a section 8 notice which requires them to prove a legal reason – such as anti-social behaviour or a tenant being in rent arrears
No more assured shorthold tenancies: It’s common for renters to currently be given a 12-month or 24-month contract. The terms of this will automatically change when the Renters’ Rights Bill becomes law and they will become rolling tenancies.
The landlord can regain possession of the property if they want to sell, but they now must provide four months’ notice and be able to prove it’s their intention. They also can’t do this in the first 12 months of a tenancy.
Tenant’s notice to end the tenancy: Under current rules tenants must provide one month’s notice before ending the tenancy, but this will be increased to two months under the new bill. This being said, landlords and tenants can come to their own agreement to reduce this to one month.
No more bidding wars: Many people are currently obliged to offer a higher amount to a private landlord when they want to rent a property. This will be banned under the new bill.
Control over rent increases: There won’t be a limit to how much a landlord can increase rent, but there will be more restrictions enforced. Under the new bill a landlord must serve a section 13 notice if they want to increase rent, and they will need to provide the tenant with two months’ notice.
Tenants will continue to be able to challenge the rent increase in a Tribunal, with the Tribunal only able to set the rent at the same or lower than what is proposed by the landlord.
More rights to keep a pet: Tenants will be allowed to keep a pet in their home if they make a request. The new bill states landlords shouldn’t deny requests unreasonably. The tenant must make their request in writing and provide details of the pet.
New rules on housing disrepair: Extra rules will be introduced for housing conditions and disrepair by extending the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s law to the private rented sector.
The Decent Homes Standard sets out minimum requirements for social housing conditions. Awaab’s law set out a new duty for social housing landlords to deal with hazards in line with regulations. Both rules particularly address damp and mould.
New Ombudsman to investigate complaints: Currently in place for social housing, the law will create a new scheme requiring private landlords to join a landlord redress scheme or Ombudsman. The housing Ombudsman will investigate complaints from tenants, and where it finds failings, will make recommendations on how the landlord can put things right or how much compensation needs to be paid.
Private rented database: A public database will serve as a record of a landlord’s actions. It will show which landlords have been subject to banning orders, financial penalties or other offences. A landlord will have to sign up for this if they want to advertise a property.
Local authorities must enforce these rules: This has been a cause for concern, as many local councils are overstretched as it is. Local authorities will have powers to issue rent repayment orders and investigate breaches. Housing charity Shelter says the use of these powers will be crucial to the success of the reforms.
What are renters’ groups and landlords saying about the bill?
It’s mostly positive from both sides. The Renters’ Reform Coalition is very pleased but believes it can go further in places. The National Residential Landlords’ Association is broadly supportive, but is concerned about a number of details. MyLondon spoke to both organisations to get the full story.
Tom Darling, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said Section 21 evictions are in his view the reason why “England has the weakest tenant protections in all of Europe” – where tenants who have behaved well are only given two months’ notice before a landlord repossesses their home.
“Not only is that a ridiculously short amount of time for a tenant to have, but that power informs the entire relationship between tenant and landlord,” he said. “As a tenant you know you’re there at the discretion of the landlord.
“We have lots of tenants using it as a retaliatory measure when tenants ask for repairs or ask for a rent increase. The bill abolishes this and means that landlords would have to apply to repossess the property through the courts.”
Right-wing think tank Centre for Policy Studies claims the bill will lead to a mass exodus of landlords which will only push up rents for tenants. In response to this, Mr Darling criticised it as a “scare tactic”.
He continued: “There’s no evidence that the private rental sector has shrunk to date. Since 2000 the sector doubled in size to 2014 During this time it only got more expensive for renters while it hasn’t seen any improvements in quality.
“If some landlords decide to sell up because they can’t meet the basic obligations of this bill, then they shouldn’t be landlords and it wouldn’t be bad for the sector to shrink.
“In isolation if you think about the demand and supply of a market, if you reduce supply then the price goes up. But housing isn’t just a renting market, it’s a whole system.
“When a landlord sells they’re often selling to a first time buyer which means there is demand coming out of the system, or they will sell to another landlord who is willing to meet these obligations – in which case there is no difference to the market at all.”
Ellie Bateman, National Affairs Manager of the National Residential Landlords’ Association, said she is broadly supportive of the aims to improve standards and the quality of homes for tenants. In particular, she said the Decent Home Standard, extension of Awaab’s law and the ombudsman are good things in principle. But has raised concerns with the impact on student tenancies and how well the courts will cope.
She said: “We’re not against the eradication of Section 21, but our concern is that the system in place needs to work for everyone. Student accommodation is particularly important. We have concerns a significant proportion of student housing, up to a third of the market, could be lost because of the bill.”
Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) are useful for student lets as they can be designed to align with the academic year. This means the contract will begin in September and finish in July or August. The government has recognised this and will implement some extra landlord powers for houses of multiple occupancy (HMOs), but we don’t know the full extent of this yet.
Ms Bateman added: “There will be a ground for possession student landlords can use, but it only applies to HMOs. A third of students live in smaller housing with one or two people living in one, but under the bill student landlords can’t provide notice to regain possession.
“Under these rules, landlords simply won’t start them which could lead to less of a supply. We’ve seen the impact of this in Scotland where these rules are already in place as many smaller properties are no longer available. This would mean those who want a quieter living environment while they study will miss out.”
Ms Bateman also said local authorities are already not sufficiently funded to enforce rules currently in place, so added regulations under the Renters’ Rights Bill will only make this more difficult.
How close is the Renters’ Rights Bill to becoming law?
The Renters Rights’ Bill has passed its third readings in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. It’s now in the final stages where on Tuesday, October 14 new amendments will be considered.
Labour have a large majority in the House of Commons so it should pass its final vote. Once it goes through this and gets Royal Assent it is expected to become law in early 2026.
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