Property sector responds to the Renters (Reform) Bill latest

The Renters (Reform) Bill’s second reading has been passed without a vote which has prompted various leading figures in the property sector to offer an opinion on what comes next.

One of the big issues is that the government’s planned abolition of section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions will not happen until the court system has been improved.

Critics – including Labour’s Angela Rayner – fear this means that it could be years before section 21 is abolished.

The potential delay has also led Goodlord’s chief executive William Reeve to say: “This is an unexpected announcement that could mark a potentially huge change for the sector and the trajectory of the bill.

“Under these conditions, it could take years for scrapping Section 21 to actually come into force.”

‘The scrapping of Section 21’

Mr Reeve added: “Interestingly, although still overall very opposed to the change, landlords had recently started to soften slightly in their position to the scrapping of Section 21.

“According to our research, in 2022 71% of landlords believed the abolition of Section 21 would have a negative impact on the sector. In 2023, this had dropped to 62%.”

Laura Southgate, a partner in the property disputes team at legal firm Cripps, said: “Despite the Bill having passed through a second reading in Parliament, renters will understandably be disappointed to hear that the abolition of no-fault evictions will be delayed ‘until reforms to the justice system are in place’.

landlords have questioned whether the courts can keep up

She continued: “But many landlords, who have questioned whether the courts can keep up with the proposed changes, will welcome the news.

“Landlords want certainty that if a tenant fails to comply with their tenancy agreement – for example by not paying rent – they would be able to repossess their property.

“A key factor in that is the reliability and efficiency of the court process for recovering possession.

“Unfortunately, however, the courts are vastly overstretched: possession claims and the following eviction process can take many months, sometimes more.”

Student rental sector should not move to periodic tenancies

When introducing the Bill, Mr Gove acknowledged that the student rental sector should not move to periodic tenancies and said an annual solution would be delivered.

Frankie Malpass, the product Lead at Vouch, said: “One of the key areas that the government has recognised is the impact of periodic tenancies on private student renters.

“Students generally have different renting needs compared to the wider private rental sector – with a greater requirement for cyclical tenancies – so the blanket switch to periodic tenancies doesn’t serve students or their landlords well.

“It’s therefore encouraging to see that this issue has been recognised by the Government by the introduction of a process to complete the tenancy at the end of the academic year, ready for a new cohort of students to move in, enabling students to line up their housing in advance.

“However, more specifics will be needed to ensure the concerns of student and student landlords have been truly addressed.”

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