Get on with Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords tell ministers

Following the news that the Government has announced proposed amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill, the NRLA has published its response to this latest development..

Details relating to the amendments (further background on these proposals is provided below) have now been sent to backbench MPs by Jacob Young MP ahead of the next stage of the Bill's passage through parliament.

Commenting on the Government’s planned changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association said:

“All the rumour, speculation and off-the record briefings about the future of the Bill has caused a huge amount of concern and uncertainty for tenants and responsible landlords.

“The Government has a mandate to end section 21 repossessions. Our focus has been on ensuring that the replacement system works, and is fair, to both tenants and responsible landlords. The changes being proposed would achieve this balance.

“Ministers now need to crack on to ensure the Bill can proceed with the scrutiny it deserves.

“The lack of progress and uncertainty about the future is destabilising and damaging for those living and working in the private-rented sector. It is time to bring this to an end.”  

Amendments the Government plans to table to the Bill include:

• Accepting a proposal by the cross-party housing select committee that when fixed term tenancy agreements end, “tenants be unable to give two months’ notice to leave until they have been in a property for at least four months.” The Committee noted that: “This will give landlords the legal certainty of at least six months’ rent at the start of a tenancy.”  Protections should be in place however to ensure tenants can leave earlier than this where properties are not of a decent standard, and to protect those suffering from domestic abuse.
• Reviewing the operation of the courts before ending section 21 for existing tenancies to ensure the justice system can cope with the increased workload. The Law Society has warned that: “without investment for housing legal aid and the courts, the bill will not achieve its aims and may lead to an increase in backlogs and landlords and tenants alike will be unable to enforce their legal rights.”
• Ensuring all types of student housing, including one and two bed properties, are covered by the planned ground for possession to protect the annual cycle of the student housing market. This will ensure landlords can guarantee to prospective students that properties will be available to rent from the start of each academic year. Universities UK has noted that: “the annual cyclical model is critical for landlords’ business models which ensures a timely and robust supply of student accommodation.”

-ENDS-

• Further information about the NRLA can be found at www.nrla.org.uk.  It posts on X @NRLAssociation.
• The NRLA’s press office can be contacted by emailing [email protected] or by calling 0300 131 6363.