Renters' Rights Bill: Movement on amendments
This week saw another round of Renter’s Rights Bill committee stage meetings, with movement on a number of amendments, some of which will impact private rented sector (PRS) landlords. Policy Officer Dan Cumming and Public Affairs Officer Mia Rotaru explain more.
Unsurprisingly, this week, the general theme was of Government’s amendments being accepted and those from opposition parties being withdrawn.
Some were given relatively short shrift, or in other cases dealt with by the minister, promising to consider the points being made and to come back to other interested members later on in the process with further detail.
Many amendments were more technical in nature, or primarily affect right to buy schemes and local authorities and social landlords.
How will the amendments affect the PRS?
Relevant for private landlords is amendment 1, which introduced a clause to provide for compensation to be paid to the tenant where they are evicted under Ground 6A, the new ground for possession to allow for compliance with enforcement action (against the landlord).
This was explained as being necessary as tenants may be evicted under this ground as a result of the landlord’s failure, and that they should be compensated due to this.
Importantly, courts are able to consider whether to order compensation or not depending on which part of ground 6a was used by the landlord – as not all of the parts of the ground are down to the landlord’s failure.
Another amendment was passed in order to address the possible accidental breaches of the 90 day rule in Greater London, which restricts the number of days a landlord or property owner can rent out a property as a short term/holiday let.
This will protect landlords in cases where they intend to rent out a property long term, but their tenant serves notice at the beginning of the tenancy. This is positive news as it prevents landlords being in accidental breach of planning rules through no fault of their own.
Landlord redress
On Thursday, the Renters’ Rights Bill Committee began its review of Part 2 of the Bill, which introduces a new Landlord Redress Scheme aimed at enhancing tenant protections.
Under this scheme, all private landlords will be required to join an Ombudsman, providing tenants with a formal route to address grievances.
The amendments discussed reinforce obligations for landlords to register properties and maintain accurate tenancy records, with penalties for non-compliance, empowering local authorities to impose fines on landlords who fail to adhere to these standards.
The Government confirmed that secondary legislation will be needed.
In this instance the committee also approved an extension of Awaab’s Law, which mandates timely interventions for hazardous conditions, to include private rentals.
This measure is expected to improve tenant safety and living conditions by setting clear repair timelines that landlords must meet.
More information
Next week, the committee will only meet on Tuesday, as Parliament will be in recess from 6 to 11 November. The committee stage is expected to conclude by 28 November, after which the bill will return to Parliament for its third and final reading before moving to the Lords.
Keep an eye out for further articles from the team as the bill progresses on our news and social media sites and check out our exclusive member hub for more details on the Renters’ Rights Bill and its progression through Parliament.
