Secure homes for tenants

Lawyers have given a cautious welcome to the Renters’ Rights Bill, which goes further than the previous government’s Renters’ Reform Bill.

The Bill, laid before Parliament last week, bans s 21, Housing Act 1988 no-fault evictions as soon as the Act enters into force, whereas the previous government proposed delaying the ban until after court reforms took place.

It extends the decent homes standard—known as ‘Awaab’s law’ after toddler Awaab Ishak, whose death was caused by prolonged exposure to damp and mould—to the private rented sector as well as social housing. Non-compliant landlords can be fined up to £7,000 by local councils and may face prosecution.

It restricts rent increases to once a year and to the ‘market rate’, prevents blanket bans on renting to tenants on benefits or with children, and strengthens tenants’ rights to keep a pet. An ombudsman’s service would be created to solve issues without the need to go to court.

Fixed-term assured tenancies will end, tenants will be entitled to a 12-month protected period at the beginning, and landlords must give four months’ notice to quit.

Scott Goldstein, partner, Payne Hicks Beach, said: ‘The elephant in the room is the lack of any reform of the court system, which will surely become (even more?) unfit for purpose once judges have to deal with the increased case load resulting from an increase in possession cases.

‘Another, perhaps less appreciated, point is the impact on local authorities of the significant increase in their regulatory burden stemming from this legislation. Any legal system is only as good as the smooth functioning of its enforcement mechanisms.’

Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: ‘More details are needed on how the government will ban “no-fault” evictions, while balancing tenant rights with landlords’ routes to repossessions. Maintaining this balance is key in reforming the rental market’.