The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, issued its Guide to the Renters Rights Bill on 26 September.

It stated that the Renters’ Rights Bill will:

• ‘Abolish section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic – providing more security for tenants and empowering them to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction. We will implement this new system in one stage, giving all tenants security immediately.
• Ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, giving tenants more security, while ensuring landlords can recover their property when reasonable. The bill introduces new safeguards for tenants, giving them more time to find a home if landlords evict to move in or sell, and ensuring unscrupulous landlords cannot misuse grounds.
• Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out. As now, landlords will still be able to increase rents to market price for their properties and an independent tribunal will make a judgement on this, if needed.
• Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that will provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlord. This will bring tenant-landlord complaint resolution on par with established redress practices for tenants in social housing and consumers of property agent services.
• Create a Private Rented Sector Database to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance (giving good landlords confidence in their position), alongside providing better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement. It will also support local councils – helping them target enforcement activity where it is needed most. Landlords will need to be registered on the database in order to use certain possession grounds.
• Give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. To support this, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.
• Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities.
• Apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords in the private rented sector must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.
• Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children – helping to ensure everyone is treated fairly when looking for a place to live.
• End the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent. Landlords and agents will be required to publish an asking rent for their property and it will be illegal to accept offers made above this rate.
• Strengthen local authority enforcement by expanding civil penalties, introducing a package of investigatory powers and bringing in a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity.
• Strengthen rent repayment orders by extending them to superior landlords, doubling the maximum penalty and ensuring repeat offenders have to repay the maximum amount.’

Propertymark responded to the new guidance stating: ‘Although the new Renters’ Rights Bill needs to fully work its way through the parliamentary process, it will bring vast amendments to current laws and will fundamentally change how many aspects of the sector function. It remains vital to see greater protection and improved standards, but any changes must be implemented in a fair and balanced way to avoid unintended or detrimental effects on the sector.

‘Within the newly anticipated legislation there must be key considerations such as how the proposed abolition of Section 21 will affect the court system and how this can be mitigated to avoid adding a vast additional burden on an already pressured system. In addition, it is important that attention is paid to creating a fair taxation structure for landlords that both supports and encourages ongoing investment to keep pace with ever growing demand.

‘Propertymark is keen to communicate the proposals contained within the new bill to lettings agents’, to help ensure there is strong understanding, as well as full representation from an agent’s viewpoint, as the bill works its way along to becoming stamped into law.’

Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, added: “The Renters’ Rights Bill represents one of the biggest evolutions of law for the rental sector in many decades and it is essential lettings agents are powered with robust information to help them navigate forthcoming changes.

“It is crucial there is strong stakeholder engagement from within the industry to ensure all new proposals are practical, objective and fit for purpose. It remains vital there is healthy engagement with the UK Government to help strike a fair and workable balance between tenants, agents and landlords.”