Renters’ Rights Bill: 10 Weeks On

 

Renters’ Rights Bill

On the 11^th September 2024 the Labour Government announced the Renters’ Rights Bill, which is the successor to the now defunct Conservative’s Renters (Reform) Bill. The idea of banning Section 21 (no fault evictions) was first proposed by Theresa May in 2019, and although the Conservative’s did not make it through the wash-up prior to the surprise general election earlier this year, the idea has continued with force into the current government. 

Parliamentary Process

10 weeks on from this announcement, the new bill has gone through several of the mandatory stages for a bill to receive Royal Assent (thereby becoming an Act of Parliament). Most recently, the committee stage was finalised on November 5^th, weeks ahead of its November 28^th deadline.  

The bill still has many stages to go, but with both housing minister Matthew Pennycook and deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner committed to “get this Bill in to law as soon as possible” – it is likely that the bill will continue through the legislative process at pace. 

What does this mean for landlords?

The industry has expressed concern to the government ever since the announcement of the bill, from the required court reforms to the necessity of many landlords to sell their property should the bill become law. There is a misconception that most landlords are high net worth individuals or corporate entities, but in fact 43% of UK Landlords have just one property they rent, and over 33% are retired.  

With the abolition of Section 21, many landlords fear they would be saddled with properties they may need to regain possession of, such as where incumbent tenants suddenly end up in arrears, with no simple route to regaining possession.  

The current legislation allows a landlord to use either the accelerated Section 21 process, or the slower Section 8 process, which often requires a hearing but does allow for the recovery of rental arrears concurently. The latter could be the only option open to landlords should the bill become law. 

Court Reforms

Another key issue landlords currently face is prolonged delays with the Courts. The Conservative iteration of the bill had made court reforms a precondition for banning Section 21; the current government has stressed that it will not be the case for the Renters’ Rights Bill, despite pushback from industry associations.  

The court system is already under immense pressure on every aspect of its services, and possession claims are feeling the brunt of this. One key area feeling the impact is the critical shortage of court bailiffs, leading to delays as far as 6 months in some parts of the country. Whilst this may be mitigated by a Section 42 application to allow for enforcement by High Court Enforcement Agents, many landlords are not aware of this as an option and continue to add to every growing court backlog.  

What’s next?

Whilst the bill will continue to progress through to the House of Lords after the 3^rd reading, landlords will continue to carry out evictions at unprecedented rates to get out of the industry ahead of the legislation. The Court backlog will continue to increase at an exponential rate and unless heavy investment is placed into the justice system, landlords will continue to suffer from these delays. 

If you are a landlord looking to regain possession of your property, contact DCB Legal on 0203 434 0426 Title the visitor sees. or complete our contact form and a member of our specialist property litigation team will be in touch to advise how our fully managed possession process can help you avoid delays and put you in the best position to regain control.