Renters (Reform) Bill developments

The Renters (Reform) Bill has been subject to much speculation since it was first announced, and increasingly so since the detail was released 11 months ago. Despite this, progression of the bill has been left out of parliamentary timetables, leaving the market to speculate when we will see this bill come into effect.

However, in late March, a letter was sent by the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, to Conservative MPs setting out the further plans for the bill in response to concerns from some colleagues. The letter was leaked onto the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter).

In the letter, Mr Gove acknowledged the concerns raised by MPs and indicates that further improvements will be made to the bill once it returns to the parliamentary timetable after the Easter recess. Mr Gove also outlined that the improvements have the support of Landlord groups.

The improvements are outlined as follows:

• Establishing an initial six-month period for tenants – Tenants would be unable to give notice to end the tenancy within the first six months of a tenancy. Previously, the bill allowed tenants to give two months’ notice at any point.
• Providing an assessment on the county court possession system before abolishing Section 21 Notices – The Lord Chancellor will provide an assessment on the readiness of the courts before Section 21 Notices can be abolished.
• Undertaking a review of local authority licensing schemes – With the introduction of the new property portal, concerns were expressed that this would effectively duplicate the current licensing system and create further complications for landlords to comply with. The licensing system will therefore be reviewed to decide if changes need to be made.
• Possession grounds regarding student lets will be bolstered – Concerns were expressed that the bill’s proposed ground would not cover non-HMO student lets. Mr Gove has therefore expressed it will apply to all properties let to students, so long as reference to the ground and intent to use it is written into the tenancy agreement.
• Landlords prevented from re-letting for three months after using the new ‘sell/move in’ grounds – landlords will also be prevented from letting on short lets during that period.
• Expanding homelessness prevention duties – Currently, a tenant can be owed a prevention duty once they have been evicted under a Section 21 Notices. With Section 21 Notices due to be abolished in the future, there were concerns that this would affect an individual’s chances of receiving a homelessness prevention duty from their local authority. Mr Gove has therefore stated that a prevention duty will also be owed upon service of a valid Section 8 Notice. This is significant as tenants will be able to get housing assistance from a much earlier point in the eviction process.

The MP concludes the letter by stating that these improvements will be added to the bill during the report stage, which will commence after the Easter recess.

However, there is still a long process for the bill to go through before the bill becomes law, and there remains a number of unanswered questions. For example, how long will court digitisation take, how will the court reforms’ effectiveness be assessed and how long after the courts are digitised will it take for Section 21 Notices to be abolished.

Together with Woodstock Legal Services, you can trust The Lettings Hub to keep you informed about all of the changes affecting the Private Rental Sector. Follow us on LinkedIn to ensure you’re always up to date.