New Government Plans for the Rental Sector

The new government is gearing up to introduce changes in the private rental sector, signalling a busy few months ahead. Proposed changes centre around The Renters Rights Bill, not to be confused with the Renters Reform Bill previously put to parliament.

Labour’s Renters Rights Bill

End of No-Fault Evictions
Labour plans to abolish the Section 21 notice, widely known as No-Fault Evictions. This mirrors previous proposals in the Renters Reform Bill. The King’s Speech indicated new, clear, and expanded possession grounds, allowing landlords to reclaim properties when necessary.

Rent Increase
Labour aims to give tenants more rights to challenge rent increases. However, tenants can already challenge proposed increases, so this principle is already in place. It is possible that they may make the Section 13 notice a pathway for increasing rents across the private rental sector.

Pet Permissions
Tenants might gain the right to request a pet, with landlords obliged to consider these requests reasonably. Landlords could request insurance, covering potential damage from pets.

Decent Homes Standard
A new Decent Homes Standard could be introduced for the private rental sector. While many landlords, including those letting through Mackenzie Smith, already maintain high standards, the full details of these proposals are yet to be revealed.

Awaab’s Law
Awaab’s Law may extend to the private rental sector. This would most likely require landlords to investigate and deal with condition complaints within a deadline.

New Digital Database
There are plans to create a digital database for the private rental sector, bringing together key information for landlords, tenants, and councils.

New Ombudsman Service
A proposed new ombudsman service would offer fair and impartial support should a dispute arise. Providing quicker, cheaper, and legally binding resolutions for landlords and tenants, it would help to prevent possible escalations, reducing the necessity of going to court.

Discrimination
Legislation may be introduced to prevent landlords from discriminating against tenants with children, or those receiving benefits.

Increased Council Powers
Councils could gain enhanced investigatory and enforcement powers, to identify and penalise unscrupulous landlords more effectively.

New Legislation Affecting Rental Prices
New legislation could be introduced to avoid unfair pricing created by bidding wars, which should not affect our property listings. We hand-pick a small selection of prospective tenants to match landlord properties, therefore prices are simply kept competitive.

As always, our Property Lettings and Management team have their ears to the ground. If you’re one of our many valued landlords, rest assured we’ll keep you fully up-to-date as and when any legislation changes.