The Renters Reform Bill White Paper: Long overdue reform but much more needed for renters.
After 3 years since the first announcement on reform to the Private Rented Sector, the government have finally released the Renters Reform Bill White Paper. Here is a summary of what the government are proposing and my analysis as a renter.
Firstly, the government have pledged to make it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to tenants on benefits. This is something that will make sure more renters on low incomes have access to housing and an issue that renters have campaigned on for years, alongside the abolition of Section 21 evictions. Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act allows landlords to evict tenants for no reason and has been a major cause of homelessness. This is a significant win for renters.
However, the government have said that Landlords should be able to evict tenants quicker for reasons such as “antisocial behaviour”, persistent rent arrears, selling the property or moving back in. Landlords would only still have to give two months’ notice, which is what they give now for Section-21 evictions. There wouldn’t be any fixed-term contracts anymore but a protection for the first six months of a tenancy before any evictions can happen, which is what renters currently have.
In addition, they’ll require that private rented homes meet the governments “Decent Homes Standard”. The government have acknowledged that over a fifth of private rented homes currently do not meet these standards. Although they have said they will give councils the “tools” to deal with it, they have committed £20 million over 3 years. Bear in mind my local council are looking to save almost £20m over the next 5 years alone. How the government will spread that money across the country effectively to make sure every private rented home is “decent” remains to be seen.
They also want to create a new Ombudsman that all landlords must join. This would speed up disputes without having to go through a lengthy court process. This’ll benefit Landlords more as lengthy court processes often deter Landlords from evicting. However, renters will be able to legally challenge “excessive rents” but it is not clear how “excessive” is being defined. I worry that a lack of proper rent control will mean that landlords will increase rents and be able to evict tenants that are in rent arrears easily. The government acknowledge that rents in London have gone up by 14% in the last year but refuse to back rent controls despite not presenting evidence against them. According to the OECD, a form of Rent Control is used in 13 countries.
This bill is long overdue but hasn’t gone through all the stages of parliament yet. So it will be interesting to see what happens with amendments it. Given that 18% of MPs are landlords, renters have a fight on our hands to get this bill passed without vital aspects being watered down and to improve it where there are gaps.