8:46 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago 29
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The Renters’ Rights Bill will be introduced to Parliament today with Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions set to be banned immediately.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner says the Renters’ Rights Bill will help “protect tenants” and stop unscrupulous landlords tarnishing the reputation of the private rented sector.
The Section 21 ban looks set to be implemented when the Bill becomes law – not when the court backlog has been cleared.
Other measures introduced in the Bill will include applying Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector and applying a Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. Landlords who fail to address serious hazards could be fined up to £7,000 by local councils and may face prosecution for non-compliance.
The Bill will ban Section 21 eviction notices immediately for new and existing tenancies at the same time which the government says will give all private renters immediate security and assurance.
According to the government, nearly 26,000 households faced homelessness as a result of a Section 21 eviction and had to go to their council for support.
Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said: “Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them.
“Most landlords act in a responsible way but a small number of unscrupulous ones are tarnishing the reputation of the whole sector by making the most of the housing crisis and forcing tenants into bidding wars.
“There can be no more dither and delay. We must overhaul renting and rebalance the relationship between tenant and landlord. This Bill will do just that and tenants can be reassured this government will protect them.”
According to the government, 21% of privately rented homes are considered non-decent and more than 500,000 contain the most serious of hazards. Clear expectations will be set so tenants can expect safe, well-maintained, and secure living conditions.
The Labour government will introduce the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time. The government says: “Good landlords who provide these standards will benefit from clear regulation. This will eliminate unfair competition from those who, for far too long, have got away with renting out substandard properties to tenants.”
A new Private Rented Sector Database will also be created to help landlords understand their obligations for compliance and provide tenants the information they need to make informed choices for new tenancies. It will also enable councils to focus enforcement where it is needed most.
The Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook met with landlord and tenant groups and committed to engaging with them as the Bill progresses, to ensure the sector is ready for the changes.
The government says they will help ensure homes in the private rented sector meet minimum energy efficiency standards by 2030, with more detail to be set out following further consultation.
Other measures introduced in the Bill include:
Speaking ahead of publication of the Renters’ Rights Bill later today, Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association said: “Plans to reform the private rented sector have been on the table for over five years now. Above all, renters and landlords need certainty about what the future looks like. Whilst we await the precise details of the Bill, it is vital that it works, and is fair, to both tenants and landlords.
“The end of Section 21, ‘no explanation’ repossessions represents the biggest change to the sector for over 30 years. Once the Bill is passed, it is vital that sufficient time is provided to enable the sector to properly prepare. Over 4.5 million households will need tenancy agreements updating, letting agent staff and landlords will need to undertake training and insurance and mortgage providers will need to adjust policies and rates. None of this will happen overnight and the Government needs to publish guidance.
“In addition, ending Section 21 will leave the courts needing to hear possession claims where landlords have a legitimate reason. The cross-party Housing Select Committee has warned that without reforms to ensure the courts process cases much more swiftly, they risk becoming overwhelmed. This will not serve the interests of tenants or landlords seeking justice.”
JB
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Sign Up7:42 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
What does 'immediate' section 21 ban mean?
Downsize Government
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Sign Up7:58 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
"Landlords and letting agents will be legally required to publish an asking rent for their property. They will also be banned from asking for, encouraging, or accepting any bids above this price"
The only answer to that is to Dutch auction the prices. List a high price but tell the agent, or list on the advert that the price is negotiable.
Houses could sit empty longer while slowly reducing the price to hit market rate.
Downsize Government
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Sign Up8:10 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
“Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them."
Landlords have been let down for too long and too many are stuck with unfair prejudice, powerless to act because of the threat of a over regulation and asymmetric relationships with government and tenants hanging over them.
moneymanager
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Sign Up8:45 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
There was no PRS in the People's Nirvana of theUSSR, the housing sucked.
David Houghton
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Sign Up8:50 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
Reply to the comment left by JB at 11/09/2024 - 07:42
The earliest it can mean is when the bill comes into force. Today is the first reading in parliament. This means they read out the title and order the bill to be published. Everything is speculative till then.
The bill then may get amended at committee or 2nd reading in either house (unlikely in this case).
So if in doubt serve s21 now.
LaLo
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Sign Up9:05 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
Yes, the bill has to get through Parliament but as Labour have the most seats, it’s certain to and fast!
moneymanager
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Sign Up9:17 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
'Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said: “Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them.'
Retaliatory eviction is all ready illegal, why not just use existing measures, ah, soundbite politics.
The claim of '500,000' claim appears spurious, can Beadle or Rayner inform us where they are and hiw this is known?
Markella Mikkelsen
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Sign Up9:19 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
I have no objection to S21 being abolished if, and only if, it is replaced with a robust, dependable legal process whereby I can get my property back from a bad tenant. In this, I agree with the NRLA.
What a dependable process looks like for me is:
- where a tenant is more than 2 months in arrears, mandatory possession within 15 days of submitting the court claim (no ifs, no buts, no bailiffs, no "breathing space" or any other excuses)
- where a tenant is showing repeated anti-social behaviour, mandatory possession in 7 days of submitting the court claim (same as above)
- where the landlord needs to sell, mandatory possession in 2 months.
For this to happen, the legal process needs to be digitised and streamlined. With AI, it is very easy to automate the legal process, it really is quite simple to design a functional system that removes humans from most of the process.
As long as the landlord has uploaded all the right evidence, a MANDATORY possession is issued. If tenants refuse to move, sanctions start kicking in, for example, the council can remove support for the tenant or benefits are stopped etc.
Keeping a bad tenant in a property for longer than necessary, means that a good tenant is left homeless. A protracted legal process is penalising prospective good tenants, as well as incentivising even more landlords to leave the sector.
As for the rest of the Bill:
Bidding wars: I will now set the highest rent possible and take it from there. Once again, tenants will end up paying the price of ill-thought policies.
Tenants on benefits: I stopped taking them a long time ago, but given that they will fail the tenant referencing check I have every legitimate reason not to take them.
I don't do pets (I tell all my tenants that I am allergic to cats, dogs, etc.)
Cider Drinker
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Sign Up9:48 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
No sane landlord would wish to serve Section 21 on a good tenant without cause to do so.
If the PRS was profitable, there would be a queue of new landlords eager to snap up the rental properties with tenants in situ. Government action is responsible for making the PRS unattractive to investors.
So now, rather than the few bad landlords seeking possession to avoid some relatively minor repairs, hoards of landlords and potential landlords will be choosing to invest their money elsewhere.
It’ll be a bad day for good tenants and a good day for bad tenants. More importantly, it’s really bad news for those potentially good tenants in temporary accommodation.
Freda Blogs
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Sign Up10:58 AM, 11th September 2024, About 3 months ago
" “Most landlords act in a responsible way but a small number of unscrupulous ones are tarnishing the reputation of the whole sector by making the most of the housing crisis and forcing tenants into bidding wars."
So Ms Rayner, you're saying it’s a small number of unscrupulous LLs tarnishing the reputation of the sector? Yet this legislation will punish ALL landlords, even the majority - the good, compliant ones – who, as a direct result of this proposed punitive legislation are selling up and leaving the sector, leaving the unscrupulous poor LLs who don’t care to conform to the rules and regs to continue.
Does this sound sensible to you, particularly when you already have the measures in place to deal with the unscrupulous LLs, but do not enforce them, allowing them to continue their poor practices?
Do you think that your proposed reforms will “protect tenants”? No, they too will suffer as the supply of properties diminishes.
Oh yes - I also think that clueless politicians such as you and the media with your ruinous ill-conceived policies are the ones doing a far greater job tarnishing the reputation of the PRS whilst significantly worsening the housing crisis.