Following the recent election, we now have an update on the abolition of section 21 and no fault evictions in the rented sector.
It comes as no surprise that today's King Speech has confirmed that, under the new Labour government, "legislation will be introduced to give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including ending no fault evictions and reforming grounds for possession" under the guise of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
There was no mention of the timescale for the Bill, but Labour's manifesto promised to immediately abolish section 21 and prevent renters being exploited and discriminated against.
Judging by the background briefing notes to the King's Speech, which can be accessed here, the Renter's Rights Bill looks very much like the Renter's Reform Bill, introduced under the previous government in May 2023, but abandoned in the run up to the prorogation of Parliament on 24 May 2024. The notes state that "the Government is determined to level decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant by providing renters with greater security, rights and protections and cracking down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who exploit, mistreat or discriminate against tenants with bad practices such as unfair rent increases intended to force tenants out, and pitting renters against each other in bidding wars".
It had been the previous government's intention to delay the abolition of section 21 until sufficient progress was judged to have been made in reforming the struggling County Court system. We are now likely to see section 21 abolished before those improvements are made.
In addition to the abolition of section 21, the new Bill will largely echo its previous incarnation by:
- Introducing new possession grounds;
- Enabling tenants to challenge rent increases;
- Giving tenants the right to request a pet be permitted in their home;
- Applying the Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector;
- Creating a private rented sector database;
- Introducing a private rented sector Ombudsman Service; and
- Making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.
So, what is likely to be different?
- Apart from the speedy abolition of section 21, the briefing notes reference applying ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the PRS, by setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must investigate reports of potential serious hazards, report on their findings and then carry out any necessary repairs to make homes safe.
- The briefing notes also mention the introduction of new laws to end the practice of rental bidding wars by landlords and letting agents, which will greatly assist tenants in an increasingly competitive market.
- When the previous Bill was debated, Labour had pushed for longer minimum periods within which landlords were unable to rely on the new possession grounds for sale of a property, or occupation by the landlord or landlord's family. We can expect those changes to come in.
- There is also likely to be no minimum period for a tenant to give notice to terminate a tenancy, meaning that a tenant can theoretically give notice immediately if a property is considered unsuitable.
We will provide further detail once the draft Bill is published.
