The UK government has tabled the long awaited renter’s reform bill, the first step to change in England’s troubled private rented sector. The bill’s headline reform is to end “no fault” evictions, something Theresa May announced plans to do when she was prime minister in 2019.
But while it proposes fundamental reform and greater protection for renters, at the same time it gives landlords a host of new powers – including to evict.
Currently, under section 21 of the Housing Act, landlords can give renters two months’ notice to leave the property without any reason needed. Renters then have to leave the property or risk being taken to court. And, unless the landlord has not fulfilled their responsibilities, the court has to grant an eviction.
“No fault” evictions are a significant cause of renter insecurity. Renters often don’t feel at home in their property, nor can they easily put down roots in their community. And research has shown that renters had a 46% chance of receiving an eviction notice if they complained about their landlord to the council.
To this end, the bill does not follow through on the government’s levelling-up promise to apply the decent home standard to the private sector. The standard – currently under review – is a legal requirement in the social rented sector. It sets out the criteria a home must meet to be considered “decent”, meaning safe and of good quality.
The government has committed to introducing further legislation within the current parliament to address this, and it’s needed urgently – more than one in five privately rented homes don’t meet the standard.
Reforms for renters
Under current rules, renters may be offered a six or 12-month tenancy before this turns into a “periodic” tenancy. The bill proposed that all future tenancies will be open ended, giving renters more flexibility to move at short notice, for instance, to take a job. To assure landlords, renters will be required in most cases to give two months’ notice to end the tenancy.
The bill also seeks to enshrine in law the right to ask the landlord for permission for a pet. This would require landlords to grant that permission unless they have a good reason.
