Renters’ Rights Bill – September 2024 Update

On Wednesday, 11 September 2024, the new Renters’ Rights Bill was published and introduced to Parliament. This Bill relates to residential tenancies and it is not to be confused with the Renters’ Reform Bill, which the previous government proposed, although the main concepts of the two Bills remain the same.

Abolition of Section 21 Notices

As the name suggests, the new Renters’ Rights Bill aims to focus even more on strengthening the rights of residential tenants. The most notable provision of the Bill is the promise to abolish Section 21 Notices. Section 21 no-fault evictions are a provision of the Housing Act 1988 which allows landlords to evict residential tenants and the end of their fixed term tenancy without providing a reason but giving at least two months’ notice.

Whilst the previous Renters Reform Bill mentioned banning no-fault evictions as well, it promised to do so once the courts were ready with no specific timeline given. In comparison, the Renters’ Rights Bill intends to scrap Section 21 Notices as soon as the Bill comes in to force.

Awaab’s Law

The full title of the Bill is “a Bill to make provision changing the law about rented homes, including provision abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies; imposing obligations on landlords and others in relation to rented homes and temporary and supported accommodation; and for connected purposes” which makes it clear that it seeks to enforce new obligations on landlords and others. One of these obligations is extending “Awaab’s Law” to the private rented sector which will force landlords to fix issues like damp and mould within a specific timeframe.

Main provisions of the new Bill

The other main provisions that the Bill seeks to implement are:

Abolishing fixed term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies;
Rent increases will be annual only by way of Section 13 Notice to increase to market rent;
Banning “bidding wars” which aims to put a stop to landlords and estate agents encouraging potential tenants to bid over the asking rate;
Making it illegal for landlords to discriminate against tenants in receipt of benefits or with children;
Allowing tenants the right to request a pet; and
Introduction of a new compulsory ombudsman scheme which all landlords will be required to join.

The usual grounds for seeking possession such as rent arrears, antisocial behaviour and breach of tenancy will remain, but most of them will have longer notice periods under the new Bill. Ground 8 of a Section 8 Notice will require the tenant to be in three months of arrears before a Notice can be served, rather than the current position which only requires two months’ arrears for a mandatory ground, and it will require the landlord to give 4 weeks’ notice in place of the current two weeks’ notice.

With the current court delays of 3-6 months to obtain a possession order from when the Section 8 Notice is served, further delaying the process until there are three months of arrears may cause serious hardships for some landlords. In addition to the above, the Bill introduces new grounds for possession for example to landlords who are looking to sell their property or who require possession of the property for their own use.

The Renters’ Rights Bill is welcomed by campaign groups for renters, however it causes concerns for some landlords and letting agents. For example, when the Section 21 Notice procedure is banned, Section 8 Notices will become the main way to evict tenants and regain possession of a property.

The Renters’ Rights Bill is expected to apply to all new and existing tenancies therefore landlords will not be able to serve Section 21 Notices on tenants even if the tenancy agreement pre-dates the Bill being passed.

The Bill is now moving through the House of Commons, with the second reading set to be on 9 October 2024. The Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycooke, said he hopes to have a new tenancy system in place by summer next year and it is therefore expected that the Bill will make very quick progress through the House of Commons.

If you have any questions regarding how the Renters’ Rights Bill may affect you, please contact our Property Litigation team.