Renters’ Rights Bill

The first thing to be aware of is that fixed term tenancies will cease to exist and they will all become periodic from day one of the new law. If the rent is paid monthly, then they will become known as “monthly periodic tenancies.”  These days most tenants pay rent monthly but for the few that do pay weekly, it will be a “weekly rolling tenancy.”

For a tenant to end a tenancy, they must give 2 months-notice in writing, and the end date of the tenancy must align with the end of a rent period. In the event that the tenancy is a joint tenancy, if notice is given by only ONE tenant, then this will bring an end to the tenancy for all tenants. A shorter notice is allowed if both parties (Landlord /Tenant) agree in writing.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

This is a big change as all parties have been used to having the security of a 6 or 12 month agreement that gives both sides security for that period of time. The absolute worst-case scenario going forward is that a tenancy could last only 2 months, assuming they give their 2 months’ notice on the day that they move in! (unlikely I am sure!).

It goes without saying that we really do not know what impact this is going to have on how long tenants stay at a property, but I would hope that the average stay would stay around the current length of 20-24 months. Personally, I think that tenants would not move around unnecessarily just because they can! Time will tell.

The legislation will abolish Section 21 notices, which is the ability to evict a tenant with 2 months-notice, without stating a reason, commonly known as “no fault evictions”. The Landlord will still have grounds to evict tenants via a Section 8 but the reasons for doing so will be restrictive and some of these have been noted below (there are others but I chose the ones that I think would affect Landlords and Agents on a standard let at a standard property):

1. The Landlord or their close family member wishes to move into the property. This reason cannot be used for the first 12 months of a new tenancy.
2. The Landlord wishes to sell the property. This reason cannot be used for the first 12 months of a new tenancy. Crucially, the Landlord CANNOT re-let the property for 12 months after using this ground.
3. If the tenant is in at least 3 months of rental arrears (or 13 weeks if rent is paid weekly or monthly). The arrears of at least 3 months must be both at the time the notice is served and at the time of the possession hearing.
4. Anti-social behaviour (by tenants) grounds.

If a Section 21 has been issued BEFORE the commencement of the Renters’ Rights Act and the claimant has the court to issue the claim form for possession proceedings, but they have not begun nor been concluded, the Section 21 notice will REMAIN VALD until possession proceedings are concluded.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

This is arguably the biggest change of the entire bill and the most controversial for Landlords and Agents alike. It is cut and dried if a Landlord wants to sell the property or move into it so there should be no problems at all with that, although you can see that they have built in the “cannot re-let for 12 month” clause to stop any “misuse” of the law.

In my opinion the issues will come if a tenant becomes troublesome or overly demanding during their tenure at the property. Although we cannot mitigate for this, I do believe that it is absolutely essential that an agent chooses very carefully when making a decision on tenant selection. This is something we have always done our best to do over the years, especially since Covid but in my opinion, this has ramped up the need for this to the very top of the priorities.

It goes to say we cannot or will not discriminate but we do reserve the right to do our checks on credit, income, rental history and also the character of the people that we meet. This is often an area that is missed but I do believe that it is imperative that going with your “gut” feeling with a person or persons is hugely important. With regard these changes, as before, time will tell.

Firstly, rent review clauses in tenancy agreements will no longer be valid. Secondly, Landlords will only be able to increase rent once a year and the notice period of an increase in rent will increase from one month to two months.

If the tenant thinks that the rent increase is above the market rent, then they can challenge the notice free of charge at the First Tier Tribunal. The FTT will have the ability to reduce the rent if it is deemed to be above the market rent. In the cases of hardship, the FTT can defer rent increases for up to 2 months.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

I do believe that this part of the bill is both sensible and understandable. With good planning, it will not be a problem to issue a notice (Section 13) to tenants so as the rent is increased and I see no issue in anyone being challenged if the rental increase is above the market value of the property.

It could prove to have some “nuisance factor” if a tenant should challenge every increase that they are presented with but that is for the agent to deal with. Also, I do think that it is reasonable to only look at rent reviews on an annual basis.

It will become law that no rent should be paid in advance, other than up to one months rent. The payment of rent “up front” will only apply to tenancies that are signed after the act commences.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

On the whole, I cannot see this part of the act being a problem. In fact, it seems to be tenants that offer more rent up front in attempts to secure a property that they are keen to be accepted for. The area where it could prove a little frustrating is where a tenant with bad credit offers to pay money up front to try their best to be accepted for a tenancy. Clearly this tactic has now been quashed by the powers that be! Any breaches of this part of the act will attract fines up to £5,000.

It will be an implied term of every assured tenancy that a tenant may keep a pet with the Landlords consent, unless the Landlord reasonably refuses, including where keeping a pet would breach an agreement with a superior Landlord (such as a freeholder).

Should a tenant wish to keep a pet then they must make the request in writing and a description of it must be sought. A Landlord must consider the request on a case-by-case basis, and a response must be forthcoming within 28 days, either giving consent or refusing.

On refusal, where the tenant may feel it is unreasonable, they can escalate their complaint to the Private Rental Sector Ombudsman. A decision will be made by them after considering both parties’ evidence.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

Although this part of the act appears to have some protection in place for the Landlords, my fear is that tenants will simply just see “cannot unreasonably say no” and get a pet without even conferring with the Agent or the Landlord. It goes without saying that a landlord would be protected if the head lease prohibits pets in the building, but it could be difficult to say no to anyone else, assuming the tenants do actually apply through the correct channels.

This is an area where I can see the most “activity” with agents and Landlords challenging people who have simply gone ahead and got one (or two, or three!) without any kind of permission. One observation I would make is that conducting periodic inspections on properties, will become an integral part of being an Agent or Landlord!

In essence, the act will stop any kind of discrimination against people with children or benefit claimants.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

There appears to be some common sense included in this part in that if a family of four were to apply for a 1-bedroom flat then they could be legitimately turned down. I do not see any issue with any kind of discrimination as it goes without saying that anyone should be able to apply for a tenancy freely.

The issue would lie if an Agent or Landlord were to specifically stop someone from viewing a property based on their benefit status or if the property has enough bedrooms to house the number of children the family has. A good agent will process all applications and report to the Landlord with their recommendations of the best applicants for the property.

The legislation will allow for regulations to be introduced to set up an online Private Rented Sector database which will mean Landlords are legally obliged to register themselves and the properties that they intend to let. There will be a fee to do this but at the time of writing, it has not been established what it will be.

It will be the Agents’ responsibility to check that the property that they take on has already been registered by the Landlord. Non-compliance could mean a fine of up to £7,000! There is also provision to be made for anyone who is not online to register.

As of today, the database website is being created, and the registration of Landlords / Properties cannot commence until this is ready, so no action is required at this time.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

I think this step can only be viewed positively and Landlords should have nothing to be afraid of. I would hope that it would help raise professional standards throughout the industry.

The Housing Act 2004 will be amended within the new legislation with a new system for assessing housing conditions and enforcement. A standard will be set for all homes let under assured tenancies. The Secretary of State will have the power to specify requirements to be met by rented properties through regulation, which will include:

1. The state of repairs of premises.
2. Things to be provided for use by, or for the safety, security, or comfort of anyone occupying the premises.
3. The means of keeping the property at a suitable temperature.

The Local Authority will have the right to inspect properties to determine whether the property meets the requirements under the Decent Homes Standards. Landlords who fail to comply and keep their properties free of hazards can be subject to fines of up to £7,000 by the local authority.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

This part of the legislation is merely the tightening up of the current rules. It has always been that Local Authorities can inspect properties that are reported to them by a concerned person (tenant etc), and they have always been able to start enforcement on a property where the Landlord refuses to comply to make a property safe to live in.

I do believe that the act has to cater for all types of properties to keep all properties safe and their aim will be to eliminate so called “slumlords” out of existence (and quite right too!). Again, in my opinion, there is nothing to be afraid of with this amendment to the Housing Act and it should be embraced by all parties.

This law has been in existence since 2003 to cover Social Housing after the sad death of 2-year-old Awaab Ishak. The change will be that it will cover all aspects of private rental properties.

In essence it is there to protect tenants from hazards such as damp and mould that are within a property. This will also come under the Decent Homes Standard but at the moment there is further consultation going on, which is expected to be published in 2026.

Cross Keys’ Comment:

If a property is given to a tenant in a good state of repair, then there is nothing for anyone to worry about. There is a huge need to educate tenants about the need to ventilate and heat properties to keep condensation at bay. This is something that we are constantly doing at Cross Keys as a lot of tenants automatically assume that their premises suffer from damp due to some sort of issue with the property.

Largely there are only two types of damp, one being rising damp that has to be treated by a damp proof course on the ground floor / basement area of properties and water ingress, such as blocked gutters, blown render and so on. Our enemy as Agents and Landlords is condensation, which is entirely preventable with education.

We spend an awful lot of time speaking to tenants about condensation prevention, sending them literature, and even emailing out a useful video that we have. As I referred to earlier in this document, conducting periodic inspections is one of the most important things we do as an agent. It is also very useful to bring out old inspection reports to determine at what point any damp issues started.