The Renters' Rights Bill: a new era for landlords and tenants in England?

The King's Speech in July that set out the new Labour government's legislative agenda, as anticipated, included the introduction of a Renters' Rights Bill (RRB) designed to "give greater rights and protections to people renting their homes".

A bill for renters' rights has been long promised. In its 2019 manifesto, the Conservative government pledged to scrap no-fault evictions. Plans were outlined in a white paper published in 2022 and, in May 2023, the Renters' (Reform) Bill was introduced to Parliament proposing various residential reforms.

However, the Renter's (Reform) Bill proved controversial after it became apparent that it would not do all of what was originally promised, including the immediate abolition of no-fault evictions.

The Renters' (Reform) Bill did not make it through the parliamentary "wash-up" prior to the July general election, but Labour has revived many of its measures with its announcement of the RRB.

Renters' Rights Bill provisions

The bill includes ending the use of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA), which allows landlords to evict tenants on a no-fault basis by giving a minimum two months' notice. Although the Renter's (Reform) Bill suggested that this would not be done until the courts were reformed, Labour has pledged to scrap the section 21 route to eviction regardless.

RRB also provides new and expanded grounds to be fulfilled for a landlord to regain possession of a property under section 8 of the HA, and applies a "decent homes standard" to the private rental sector.

It gives tenants the right to request to keep a pet where a landlord cannot unreasonably refuse consent, and it creates a digital private-rented sector database for landlords, tenants and councils.

The provisions include the creation of an ombudsman scheme that all private landlords must join, which will offer a fair and impartial process to resolve disputes between landlords and tenants with a binding resolution. This is intended to reduce the need for intervention of the court.

It will also make discrimination against tenants in receipt of benefits or who have children, illegal when choosing whether or not to grant tenancies to them.

The RRB also proposes to extend "Awaab’s law" – which requires landlords to investigate and fix health hazards in rented property within specific timeframes – so that it applies to private landlords as well as social housing. It also strengthens tenants' rights by giving them the power to challenge unreasonable rent increases designed to force them out of their tenancy.

Further clarity needed

There are many points concerning the content of the RRB that are not clear, at present, given the minimal amount of information shared about the proposed bill by the government in the King's Speech and subsequent official documents.

It is uncertain whether the RRB will include provisions to abolish fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies and replace them with rolling periodic tenancies, allowing tenants ultimate flexibility. This was originally proposed in the Conservative's Renter's (Reform) Bill but was a big concern for rental operators at the time, as having no fixed-term tenancies could have a significant impact on their operating model. 

It is also not clear whether the RRB will include carve-outs for the student sector, which the purpose-built student accommodation industry was lobbying for with the Renter's (Reform) Bill.

And it is not yet known when the RRB will come into force. Labour promised to abolish section 21 notices "immediately" upon election; but there is minimal information about the bill and no visible progress on taking it through Parliament to receive royal assent. However, the fact that there has already been much debate about the reforms may help to speed up its progress. The RRB is also expected to apply retrospectively, but it remains unclear whether this has been confirmed and how this will work in practice.

Implications for landlords

The RRB should come as a relief for tenants, but, if implemented, will have far-reaching implications for many private landlords, as it will reduce the level of control they hold over their rental properties. Landlords will no longer be able to use section 21 HA to regain possession; instead, there will be different requirements under section 8 HA to which landlords will need to adjust. 

Disposing of section 21 – and specifically section 21 accelerated possession claims – will likely add to delays for landlords in regaining possession generally, while using a new unfamiliar process, and add to existing court backlogs if matters cannot be decided on the papers alone.

Osborne Clarke comment

The publication of the draft bill is likely to give the industry greater clarity and that it will include measures to manage or mitigate delays for landlords seeking to recover possession. 

Clearly, the rental market is poised for significant change, however. Landlords, while they await further details of the reforms, should monitor any updates as the Renters' Rights Bill progresses through Parliament, so that they are best positioned to comply with and not to fall foul of the new requirements as they come in to force. Moreover, the government will need to be mindful to ensure they do not spark a slew of evictions under any transitional provisions.