Queen's Speech December 2019 - Renters’ Reform Bill

Renters’ Reform Bill

“New measures will be brought forward to protect tenants...”

The purpose of the Bill is to:

● Introduce a package of reforms to deliver a fairer and more effective rental market.

The main benefits of the Bill would be:

• ●  Improving security for tenants in the rental sector, delivering greater protection for tenants and empowering them to hold their landlord to account.

• ●  Strengthening the rights of landlords who need to gain possession of their property when they have a valid reason to do so.

• ●  Improving the experience of those living in the private rental sector and the affordability for tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next by introducing a new lifetime deposit.

• ●  Improving standards in rented accommodation, driving out rogue landlords and helping to professionalise the sector, with all tenants having a right to redress if their rented properties are not safe and healthy.

• ●  Professionalise letting agents, to the benefit of tenants and landlords.

  The main elements of the Bill are:

  • ●  Abolishing the use of ‘no fault’ evictions by removing section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and reforming the grounds for possession.

  • ●  Giving landlords more rights to gain possession of their property through the courts where there is a legitimate need for them to do so by reforming current legislation. In addition to this we will also work to improve the court process for landlords to make it quicker and easier for them to get their property back sooner.

  • ●  Introducing a new lifetime deposit so that tenants don’t need to save for a new deposit every time they move house.

    ●

Alongside these, we will continue to develop and implement measures to wider access to and expand the scope of the database of rogue landlords and

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property agents. Giving greater powers to drive improvements in standards,

and empowering tenants to make an informed choice about who they rent

from.

Territorial extent and application

● The Bill's provisions would extend and apply to England only. Housing policy is devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Key facts

• ●  The English Housing Survey 2017-18 found that the average length of residence in the private rented sector is 4.1 years. An earlier government consultation on longer tenancies showed that 79 per cent of tenants had only been offered tenancies of 12 months or less.

• ●  Research by YouGov for Shelter showed that in the last five years, 1 in 5 families renting privately have moved at least three times.

• ●  Under the current system, following the end of a fixed term, many tenants will move to a periodic tenancy where they could be asked to leave with only two months’ notice, with no reason given. A twelve-week consultation on tenancy reform closed on 12 October. The responses to the consultation will be used to inform the legislation, and the Government will respond fully in due course.

• ●  According to the English Housing Survey, around three quarters of private renters paid a deposit at the start of their current tenancy. The Tenant Fees Act, which came into force in June 2019, capped deposits to 5 weeks’ rent where the annual rent is under £50,000 per year. A Call for Evidence on deposit reform closed on 12 October. The responses to the consultation will be used to inform the legislation, and the Government will respond fully in due course.

  Additional reforms

● The Government has committed to giving access to information on the database of rogue landlords and property agents to tenants, and has consulted on widening the scope for entries on the database.