Renters Rights Bill
Here we go again with reform of the private rental sector – well, sort of. I say ‘sort of’ because Labour’s new Renters Rights Bill looks very much like the old Conservative government’s Renters Reform Bill.
The new contents have been heavily trailed during the General Election campaign. Although we will not know them for certain until the new Bill is launched after Parliament returns in September.
What we know so far of the Renters Rights Bill
The main measures – teased in a statement from the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government in mid-July – will be familiar to anyone who followed the old Conservative debate. They include:
- Scrapping Section 21 powers for landlords and their agents;
- Increasing the minimum term of occupation before which landlords could serve notice (possibly up to two years);
- Maximum time for up-front rental payments (possibly no more than five weeks);
- Introducing a version of the Decent Homes Standard now enforced in the social housing sector into the private rental space as well;
- A compulsory register which landlords must join;
- A new redress system open to tenants, possibly through the Housing Ombudsman (which currently handles social housing redress);
- Measures to prevent rents being set above levels proposed by the landlord at rent review. Where dispute caused it to be referred to First Tier Tribunal;
- A default position whereby pets are allowed, unless strong reasons can be given for refusing consent.
What might be new?
One of the principal differences between the Conservative and Labour Bills is likely to be speed. The Tories made substantial changes and delays, often to accommodate criticism of some measures from their MPs; Labour will be far more united behind the measures, with a determination to ‘get it done’.
It’s also the case that while former Housing Secretary Michael Gove pledged a six-month ‘warning period’ between legislation passing and being implemented, no such pledge has yet come from Labour.
Another big difference is that Labour has so far remained quiet on reform of the court system. Clearing the current court backlog and strengthening Section 8 (for use as an alternative to Section 21) were key elements of the old Renters Reform Bill. The new UK Government has not yet commented on its approach to these issues.
In terms of new measures from Labour, it appears likely that:
- There will be an attempt to define and prevent so-called ‘bidding wars’ between rival tenants wanting the same property;
- There may be measures to prevent rents exceeding levels proposed by the landlord at rent review, where a dispute caused it to be referred to a First Tier Tribunal;
- There may be powers given to Metro Mayors to vary enforcement and to ‘localise’ regulations. Labour’s Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has launched the ‘Good Landlord Charter’ in his area and this may be a template for the future.
What about rent controls?
Officially these have been ruled out by Angela Rayner when she was Shadow Housing Secretary. And no reference to such controls was in Labour’s General Election manifesto.
However, many key Labour figures – notably Andy Burnham and London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan – have called for them. Labour in Scotland backed the controls introduced by the SNP and Green politicians in the Scottish Parliament in 2022. Which are still in force in limited form today.
Timescale of the Renters Rights Bill
Labour has made much of abolishing Section 21 powers very rapidly. It is possible that this measure could be detached from the rest of the Bill. Still, without court capacity, this may be not easy to follow through.
Either way, the substantive new Bill needs to be introduced and will follow the normal process of First and Second Readings, Committee Stage and Third Reading in both the Commons and the Lords.
Even with a strong Labour majority and few if any of the internal party disputes that delayed the Renters Reform Bill. The new Renters Rights Bill will take several months to become law, likely in early 2025.
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Last Updated: September 22nd, 2024
