Attention Landlords and Tenants!
Do you understand what the new Renters’ Rights bill will mean for you?
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.