Renters’ Rights Bill passes second reading

The Renters’ Rights Bill has passed its second reading in Parliament with Angela Rayner promising to reform the rental sector.

The Bill now moves to the Committee Stage, where MPs will discuss its details such as the abolition of Section 21 and making it illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against tenants on benefits and those with children.

During the debate, Shadow Housing Secretary, Kemi Badenoch slammed the Renters’ Rights Bill for causing more chaos in the housing market and the government’s failure to carry out an impact assessment.

Abolish Section 21 immediately

Angela Rayner acknowledged landlords play a vital role in the sector but says the private rented sector needs reform.

She said: “The private rented sector plays an undeniably crucial role in our housing system. I want to be clear from the outset that this government understands the important role of landlords who provide good quality homes to their tenants.

“This is a sector in serious need of reform millions of people live in fear of Section 21 no-fault evictions that could uproot them from their homes and communities and are forced to live in homes that are riddled with damp and mould.”

Ms Rayner slammed the Conservative government for caving to vested interests in the Renters’ (Reform) Bill, accusing them of failing to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions to placate ‘backbench Tory MPs.’”

She said: “We will abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions immediately for new and existing tenancies to give tenants the same security immediately.”

Ms Rayner says the court system will become digital to streamline and speed up the eviction process.

She explains: “To support the court system we will digitise the county court system process to create a modern, efficient service for our courts.

“We will also take steps to ensure that wherever possible disputes will be resolved at an early stage with the new PRS Landlord Ombudsman supporting this.”

Fixed-term tenancies abolished

Ms Rayner confirmed that fixed-term tenancies will be abolished and tenants will only need to give two months’ notice.

She claimed: “This will end the injustice of tenants who need to leave at short notice.”

Ms Rayner promised landlords will still be able to reclaim their properties as they legitimately need to through clear and robust grounds.

She added: “We will also address specific cases such as student accommodation, which will have dedicated possession grounds to ensure fairness.”

Ms Rayner adds there will be a possession ground for landlords wanting to sell but with safeguards to protect tenants.

She said: “Tenants will have four months’ notice so they have time to find a new home and landlords will have to wait a year from the beginning of the tenancy before they can use moving in and selling grounds for eviction. This honours our commitment to level the playing field for renters.”

She adds: “Landlords will still be able to quickly evict tenants who cause anti-social behaviour that make others lives a misery.”

Ms Rayner also vowed to extend Awaab’s law to the private rented sector.

She said: “This Bill will also make good on our promise to extend Awaab’s law to the private sector. When I met Awaab’s family recently, I made a commitment to putting safety first, and it is an honour to pay tribute to Awaab’s legacy, and to his parents’ resolute campaigning for meaningful change for the many thousands of families living in unfit homes.”

Rent controls restrict housing supply

Ms Rayner says the Bill will help tenants to challenge unreasonable rent hikes.

She said: “The Bill will also empower tenants to challenge unfair rent increases designed to drive them out. It will prevent tenants from being bound by rent review clauses putting them in a position to challenge unreasonable rent hikes.

“Landlords and letting agents will also be required to publish an asking rent for their property and will not be allowed to ask or encourage or accept a higher offer.”

Jeremy Corbyn MP told the debate that rent controls are needed to get a grip of rising rents.

However, Ms Rayner disagreed and said: “Rent controls restrict housing supply which doesn’t help anyone.”

Ms Rayner pointed out key changes in the Bill, explaining: “Unlike in the previous government’s Bill, the tribunal will not be able to increase rent above what was originally proposed by the landlord. In cases of undue hardship, we will give the tribunal the power to defer rent increases by up to two months, thereby finally ending the injustice of economic evictions.”

Ms Rayner also says the Bill will make it illegal for landlords and letting agents to discriminate against benefit tenants and children. However, she gave no answers on how landlords and letting agents will be punished.

Online database will drive out rogue landlords

Ms Rayner also talked about the new online database which she claims will drive out rogue landlords.

She said: “The Bill will introduce a new online private rented sector database to the benefit of landlords and tenants.

“Landlords will need to provide key information about the properties they let out including property standards and compliance with the law. Helping tenants to understand more about the property and the landlord.”

She continued: “The database will also help landlords meet their legal and basic duties. Alongside greater guidance and support from the government because we know good landlords should be supported and helped.

“In addition, the database will provide local authorities with the information they need to support their enforcement activities to drive out rogue landlords.”

On pets, Ms Rayner said: “Pets aren’t just animals, but family too. This Bill will make it easier for tenants to request to have a pet in their home. It will also allow landlords to require insurance covering pet damage.”

No impact assessment

In response to the Bill, Kemi Badenoch criticised the Labour government for pushing for more regulations which will push out good landlords.

She said: “The Renters’ Rights Bill will cause more chaos. Piling on regulations will simply push good landlords out and empower bad landlords who will ignore the rules.

“The truth is the Bill is still not ready because they can’t fix the rental market by tying it in knots with further intervention.”

Ms Badenoch questioned Ms Rayner on the absence of an impact assessment, asking: “I note that no impact assessment for the Bill is available, an omission that has rightly drawn criticism from the Regulatory Policy Committee. Will the Secretary of State tell us whether an impact assessment has been undertaken? If it exists, where is it? If it does not exist, why did the Government not ask for one? I hope this is not how the Labour government mean to go on.”

Ms Rayner failed to answer on why no impact assessment has taken place.

Reaction to Second Reading

Timothy Douglas, the head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Whilst we welcome commitments from the UK government to not introduce rent controls, it is clear that much more needs to be done to ensure the Renters’ Rights Bill gets the balance right for landlords, agents and tenants.

“Outstanding questions need to be answered about how the legislation will help meet the huge demand for homes to rent and increase supply, as well as local authority capacity to enforce existing rules and the new measures proposed in the Bill.

“Many MPs raised Propertymark’s concerns that the UK government hasn’t yet produced an impact assessment on the changes and the removal of fixed term tenancies that currently ensure tenants and landlords know how long the rental period is and what their rent costs are.

“We urge the UK Government to listen to the need to extend the student ground to more sharers and introduce measures to register short term lets to level the playing field with the private rented sector to ensure there are enough homes to rent long term.”

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