THE RENTERS RIGHTS BILL WILL...
Abolish Section 21 evictions and move to a simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are periodic. This will take place in one stage - when the Bill passes into law, all fixed-term tenancies in England will automatically convert to periodic tenancies and new tenancies will essentially be periodic from the start of the tenancy. Update Grounds for Possession - Selling: A 12-month protected period will be introduced at the beginning of a tenancy during which landlords cannot evict tenants in order to sell or move into the property. A four-month notice period will be required for these grounds. Update Grounds for Possession - Arrears: Rules will be tightened to protect tenants who fall into temporary arrears by increasing the mandatory threshold for eviction from two months to three and extending the notice period from two weeks to four. Reform Rent Increases: Once a year, landlords will be able to increase rents up to the market rate (defined as the price that would be achieved for the property as a newly advertised let) by issuing a Section 13 notice which sets out the new rent and gives at least two months’ notice before it takes effect. As currently, tenants will be able to challenge increases they believe are above market rate through the First-Tier Tribunal. Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that will provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlord. Create a Private Rented Sector Database on which both landlord and property details will need to be registered before a property is marketed for let. 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 currently used in Social Housing, to the private rented sector. Apply ‘Awaab’s Law’ to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords 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. End the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent. 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.
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