The government has outlined significant changes to the Private Rented Market in the fairer Private Rented Sector white paper. The measures will form part of the Renters Reform Bill announced in the queen’s speech.
The headliner is the end of the Section 21 so called ‘no-fault’ evictions, although I don’t like the name ‘no fault’ eviction as the section 21 (6a) is a legal notice a landlord needs to serve to regain possession of their property. An eviction can only be done with a court order – just another use of catastrophising language to grab headlines.
No more fixed terms all tenancies to be moved to a Single system of periodic tenancies which will only require 2 months’ notice from tenants at any point and a landlord will only be able to end the tenancy if the landlord has a valid reason, which will be defined by law i.e. a need to sell, move in, rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.
It will be illegal for landlords or agents to have a blanket ban on allowing pets or renting to families with children, or those on benefits.
The decent homes standard will be extended to the private sector for the first time, with councils set to have stronger powers to tackle rogue landlords.
A new property portal one-stop-shop (landlord register?) will be introduced to help landlords comply with and understand their responsibilities, while a new Property Ombudsman will be created to handle disputes between renters and landlord.
This is only a white paper and will most likely change prior to being passed into law, landlords and agents who operate within the law, should not fear the renting changes proposed by the Government
Source: Dataloft, DLUHC. Link: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-fairer-private-rented-sector
