Matthew Pennycook promises Renters’ Rights Bill will end rental discrimination and bidding wars

Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook is warning that landlords will not be able to get around the Renters’ Rights Bill, and any landlord or letting agent caught discriminating against a tenant could be fined £7,000.

In an interview with The i newspaper, Mr Pennycook claims “landlords pitch renters against each other” in rental bidding wars and the Bill will end the practice once and for all.

He also says that landlord fears over the court backlog are ‘overstated’, and tenants complaining about a rent rise won’t be ‘hit by potential arrears’.

Mr Pennycook also admitted “there is no concrete date for when Section 21 will be abolished” but hopes it will happen by next year.

Stop rental bidding wars

Mr Pennycook says the Renters’ Rights Bill “is not a reheated version of Renters’ Reform Bill” and goes further than the Conservative government’s bill.

Mr Pennycook says the decent homes standard will apply to the private rented sector for the first time and the Labour government will ban Section 21 no-fault evictions immediately rather than waiting for the courts to be ready.

Mr Pennycook also claims the Renters’ Rights Bill will stop rental bidding wars.

He said to The i newspaper: “We’ve looked at examples of where action has been taken in Australia and New Zealand to combat rental bidding wars.

“We’ve learnt from those models and there are provisions in the Bill to clamp down on rental bidding wars.

“Landlords are often in particularly hot rental markets pitching renters against each other playing them off to see who can bid up the highest amount of rent. We think that’s wrong and the practice has got to end the landlord should clearly state the amount of rent that they expect for the property and if that rent is offered by a tenant it should be accepted.”

No concrete date for abolition of Section 21

Mr Pennycook admitted there is no date on when Section 21 will be abolished but hopes it will happen as soon as possible.

He told The I paper: “We don’t have a concrete date yet partly because we want to ensure that when we announce a date we’re very clear that we can stick to it.

“It’s our intention to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions to overhaul the whole tenancy regime as soon as possible after Royal Assent. My target is by summer next year but we have to see how quickly the Bill progresses.”

Mr Pennycook adds he believes the concerns about the courts are “overstated”.

He said to The I paper: “We are not going to do what the previous government did which is tie reform to the private rented sector to a sort of subjective assessment of when the courts are ready. We do need to see court improvements and we recognise the concerns about significant pressure on Tribunals.

“However, if I’m honest, I think some of these concerns are a bit overstated. We’re not going to see a direct read-across from every Section 21 eviction to a Section 8 possession order. We’ll work with colleagues at the Ministry of Justice to ensure the courts are ready, but we won’t be making tenancy reform contingent on that.”

Landlords could face £7,000 fines

Mr Pennycook claims the Bill will ban rental discrimination and landlords and letting agents could face up to £7,000 fines if they discriminate against renters with children or tenants on benefits.

He said to The i paper: “In theory, those practices are already illegal but we do know that they occur.

“What we are trying to do in this Bill is to strengthen those provisions and clamp down on the abuse. For example, I’ve seen adverts that say people with benefits can not apply. There’s also the problem of intentional discrimination that can take place in person where it’s not advertised and a tenant views a property.

“We want to be able to fine landlords and letting agents that engage with these sorts of practices.  Our clear message through the legislation is that these practices are unacceptable.”

Possession grounds won’t be abused

Mr Pennycook says he will be making sure that new possession grounds for landlords won’t be abused.

He said to The i paper: “We are not going to allow those new possession grounds to be abused. In the Bill, we have tried to overhaul how those grounds could be abused and close those loopholes.

“For example, in the previous legislation when a landlord took back their property on one of these grounds to sell or to move back in they could re-let that property after three months now it will be 12 months.

“What we want to see by the changes we’ve made is that they are being used for genuine reasons rather than as a means to evict people by the back door.”

Increase rent once a year

In the Renters’ Rights Bill, landlords will only be able to increase rent once a year and only to the market rate.

Mr Pennycook explains a tenant will be able to challenge a rent increase.

He told The i Paper: “If a tenant feels the rent increase is unreasonable they can take it to the Tribunal and the Tribunal will be able to adjudicate on whether the rent increase is reasonable or that for that particular market area.

“The Tribunal will not be able to award a rent that is higher than the landlords asking for and we’ve put in measures to ensure that when an unreasonable rent rise has been requested and the tenant has gone to Tribunal tenants can’t be hit by the potential arrears that might result if a Tribunal makes an award.”

The full interview can be seen below

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