Minister for Housing (): In its manifesto, the
government promised to overhaul the regulation of our country's
insecure and unjust private rented sector. The Renters' Rights
Act delivers on that commitment.
The Act will empower renters by providing them with greater
security, rights and protections so that they can stay in their
homes for longer, build lives in their communities, and avoid the
risk of homelessness. It will ensure that we can drive up the
quality of privately rented housing so that renters have access
to good-quality and safe homes as a matter of course. And it will
allow us to crack down on the minority of unscrupulous landlords
who exploit, mistreat or discriminate against renters.
The Act will also provide tangible benefits for responsible
landlords who provide high-quality homes and a good service to
their tenants. Not only will it improve the reputation of the
sector as a whole, but it will also ensure that good landlords
enjoy clear regulation, better access to information, and clear
and expanded possession grounds, so that they can regain their
properties quickly when necessary.
I am announcing the publication of: Implementing the Renters'
Rights Act 2025: our roadmap for reforming the private rented
sector.
The document, a copy of which I will deposit in the House
Library, provides an overview of our implementation plans for the
coming years and includes detail on how we will phase our reforms
and when they will come into force.
We intend to implement the Act in three distinct phases:
In the first phase of our reforms, we will implement the new
tenancy regime. This will apply to both new and existing
tenancies and will come into force on 1 May 2026. In this phase,
Section 21 evictions will finally be abolished; we will move to a
simpler tenancy structure where all assured tenancies are
periodic; the practice of landlords demanding large amounts of
rent in advance from tenants will be brought to an end; rental
bidding will be prohibited; and tenants will be given
strengthened rights to request a pet.
In the second phase of our reforms from late 2026, we will
introduce the new Private Rented Sector Database and Private
Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman Service. The database will help
landlords understand their obligations and demonstrate
compliance; will increase transparency and facilitate better
access to information for tenants so they can take effective
action to enforce their rights; and will support local
authorities with effective enforcement. The Ombudsman will
provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for
tenants' complaints about their landlord and will bring
tenant-landlord complaint resolution in line with established
redress practices for tenants in social housing and consumers of
property agent services.
In the third and final phase of our reforms (dates to be settled
following consultation), we will apply a modernised Decent Homes
Standard and Awaab's Law to the private rented sector for the
first time. Extending the Decent Homes Standard to the sector
will give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight
of poor-quality homes in local communities. Extending Awaab's Law
will set clear legal expectations about the timeframes within
which landlords in the private rented sector must take action to
make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.
The government looks forward to ongoing engagement with all
stakeholders to ensure a smooth implementation of this
transformative Act.
