The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has today (17th May) introduced the Renters’ Reform Bill to parliament.
The bill delivers the government’s 2019 manifesto commitment to abolish section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, which aims to empower renters to challenge poor landlords without fear of losing their home.
The “once-in-a-generation” reforms aim to protects over two million landlords, making it easier for them to recover properties when they need to or when tenants wilfully do not pay rent, so they can sell their property if they want to or move in a close family member.
It will also strengthen powers for landlords to evict anti-social tenants.
In addition, the bill proposes to reduce notice periods where tenants have been irresponsible — for example by breaching their tenancy agreement or causing damage to the property.
The changes will be introduced alongside a reformed courts process, more of which will be digitised to reduce delays for eviction cases that do end up in the courts.
A new Ombudsman will provide quicker and cheaper resolutions to disputes, while a new digital Property Portal will enable landlords to understand their obligations and help tenants make better decisions when signing a new tenancy agreement.
Housing secretary Michael Gove said: “Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe, cold homes — powerless to put things right — with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them.
“This government is determined to tackle these injustices by offering a new deal to those living in the PRS; one with quality, affordability, and fairness at its heart.
“Our new laws introduced to parliament today will support the vast majority of responsible landlords who provide quality homes to their tenants, while delivering our manifesto commitment to abolish section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.”
In addition to the abolition of section 21 evictions, the new reformed courts process, and the new Ombudsman, the Renters’ Reform Bill will also bring forward legislation to:
Landlords have been waiting for clarity on this since it was first announced four years ago in the Queen’s Speech.
The Bill received mixed reactions from industry experts, some of which are not convinced it will solve the country’s housing problems.
Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director at Leaders Romans Group, said: “While we are fully supportive of ‘professionalising’ the PRS, many of the proposed changes — including the repeal of section 21 — would pose new challenges to some landlords in some situations and could penalise both landlords and tenants.
“It is important to bear in mind that private landlords are vital to meeting increased demand in the rental sector and that unnecessary measures, which could result in an exodus of landlords from the market, would be detrimental to rental affordability.”
Riz Malik, director at Southend-on-Sea-based independent mortgage broker R3 Mortgages said the Bill may “unintentionally exacerbate housing issues in the UK.”
“By limiting landlords' abilities to manage their properties, the legislation risks deterring investment in the PRS,” he continued.
He believes that fewer rental properties due to landlord withdrawal, paired with rising demand, could result in inflated rents, “exacerbating the very issue this Bill aims to address”.
Others are less critical and greeted the introduction of greater protection for tenants with open arms.
Graham Cox, founder of Bristol-based broker SelfEmployedMortgageHub.com welcomed the reforms: “For too long, a minority of unscrupulous landlords have enjoyed all the benefits of renting out property without any of the responsibility.
“But make no mistake, the government is only introducing them now because of what they have planned for us, namely BTR on a massive scale.”
Ian Fletcher, director of policy at British Property Federation, described the Bill as “an opportunity to create a rental sector that provides secure, high-quality homes.
“We have long supported many of the bill's provisions — including the landlord portal, access to an Ombudsman, and the introduction of the Decent Homes Standard — which support the high standards already prevalent in the BTR sector,” he added.
Ben Beadle, chief executive at the National Residential Landlord Association (NRLA), welcomed the government’s pledge to ensure landlords can effectively recover properties from anti-social tenants and those failing to pay rent.
However, Ben stated that more detail was needed to ensure the Bill would work as intended: “Responsible landlords need to be confident that when section 21 ends — where they have a legitimate reason — they will be able to repossess their properties as quickly as possible.
“Without this assurance, the Bill will only exacerbate the rental housing supply crisis many tenants now face.”
