Renters Rights Bill

The Renters Rights Bill, expected to become law between October 2025 and January 2026, aims to strengthen Tenant's rights and improve the renting process. But what impact might this huge change in legislation have to you and your investments? We go through the key changes and provide insight into how the industry could be changed, but is it necessarily for the better?

Key changes of the Renters Reform Bill include the abolishment of Section 21 "No Fault" Evictions, creating statutory periodic tenancies from inception (rather than fixed terms) and limiting rent increases that can be implemented by Landlords. On balance, the bill also introduces potentially stronger ground for possession for Landlords and reforms court processes for disputes. Encouragingly, it does suggest mandatory registration of Landlords to a new Property Portal and join a Private Renters' Ombudsman scheme, creating a more regulated and accountable industry.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the bill's key provisions:

1. Abolition of Section 21 "No Fault" Evictions:

   • Landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants without providing a legally defined reason, such as rent arrears or antisocial behaviour.

   • This shift towards periodic tenancies means Tenants have more security and can't be evicted simply by the Landlord wishing to end the Tenancy

     
     

2. New Periodic Tenancy Regime

   • Fixed-term tenancies (AST's) will be replaced by periodic tenancies, which roll month by month

   • Landlords will need to give at least 2 months' notice before increasing rents (currently only 1 month's notice)

     
     

3. Rent Increase Protections

   • Landlords will only be able to increase rents once per year (this is already in place) however the change will be that clear reasons for the increase need to be demonstrated

   • Landlords will need to follow a new process for rent increases, including serving a "Section 13" notice and potentially justifying the increase to a rent review body.

     
     

4.       Stronger Grounds for Possession:

• The bill outlines specific grounds for Landlords to regain possession, including moving back into the property, selling it or if the Tenant is breaching the Tenancy Agreement – much like the existing Section 8 process currently in existence.

• This is intended to address concerns about Landlord’s ability to regain possession while ensuring Tenant security.

• The current Section 8 process is limited to set ‘grounds’ for possession, which don’t work in every case scenario, particularly where the Tenant is not at fault, so this area of the bill needs serious consideration.

  
  

5.       Reformed Court Processes:

• The big one! The bill aims to streamline the current lengthy court process for disputes and evictions, making it more efficient.

• This includes measures to address delays in the current system and could be set up like the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) which currently serves the Leasehold sector.

  
  

6.       Private Renters’ Ombudsman and Property Portal:

• All Landlords will be required to register on a new digital Property Portal and join a new private rented sector Ombudsman scheme.

• This aims to improve transparency and accountability in the rental sector, weeding out those less than desirable examples of Landlord.

  
  

7.       Written Tenancy Agreements:

• Landlords will be required to provide a written ‘statement of terms’ to Tenants before the Tenancy is entered into, outlining Tenant’s rights.

• This will help ensure that Tenants are fully aware of their rights and obligations, similar to the Leasehold sector

All in all, whilst we agree that the PRS has needed regulation for some time these proposed measures do seem to side with Tenants, yet again leaving Landlords no choice but to dramatically change the way in which they view their rental investments or exit the market altogether, which will ultimately only further exacerbate the already limited housing options in the UK.

Changes to the industry like this, further support the need for a good, regulated agent who can advise you accordingly on staying compliant and up to date with changes in the industry. As there is currently no requirement to be a member of any professional bodies, it's really important to have someone on side who chooses to be regulated by a professional body like ARLA Propertymark, as there are behaviours and codes of conduct that agents must abide by in order to stay a member.