MPs passed the third reading of the Renters’ Rights Bill last night, adding key amendments covering upfront payments and further student protections.
Lawmakers voted 440 in favour and 111 against the legislation, which plans to ban ‘no-fault’ evictions and is billed as the biggest shake up to the private rented sector for over 30 years covering 11 million renters.
New amendments include:
- Landlords will be banned from asking for rent in advance, which can range from six to 12 months. This will be limited to request one month’s rent in advance, alongside a security deposit of up to five or six weeks’ rent
- Students will no longer be locked into an agreement more than six months in advance of moving into a rented home
- Landlord fees will directly fund the private rented sector Ombudsman, which will judge disputes between landlords and tenants
- Guarantors will not be liable for rent when the person they are standing guarantor for dies, if they are a family member
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says: “For far too long working people and families have been at the mercy of a fickle and unfair rental market, faced with outrageous upfront costs, and struggling to find a safe and secure place they can truly call home.”
Housing minister Matthew Pennycook adds: “The Bill will modernise the regulation of our country’s insecure and unjust private rented sector, levelling decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant.
“And it will allow us to crack down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords who exploit, mistreat, or discriminate against renters.”
However, the National Residential Landlords Association says that renters who have poor credit history or variable incomes use advanced rent payments to secure homes and will miss out on rented properties.
Propertymark adds: “While the legislation aims to protect renters, there is a real risk that overly restrictive regulations will push landlords to sell their properties, reducing the supply of rental homes, driving up rent prices and making it even more difficult for people to find affordable housing.”
The Bill does not contain any regulations for minimum energy performance certificate standards, which will be consulted on separately by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero over the coming months.
Key elements the Bill already includes:
- Tenants will be in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases supported by a Tribunal and landlords will only be allowed to raise the rent once a year and only to the market rate
- Renters will get a quicker resolution over disputes, cutting down on the need to go through the courts through a new Ombudsman service
- Local councils will be given stronger powers to crack down on unscrupulous landlords, with fines lifted to £40,000 for the worst offenders
- A new database for landlords to share important information on their property standards
- Tenants will be able to request to have a pet and landlords will not be able to unreasonably refuse
The legislation now moves onto its first reading in the House of Lords.