As you will have seen in the media the Renters (Reform) bill has been presented to Parliament and will see various readings before it receives Royal Assent and becomes law. During this process there will be consultations but as yet no timescales have been put in place.
The Government have produced this bill as part of their strategy to provide tenants with safer, fairer, and higher quality homes but at the same time making it easier for landlords to gain possession of their property where tenants fall behind with their rent or if there are anti-social behaviour issues. There will be new grounds to end a tenancy where a landlord needs to sell or if they want to move a family member or even themselves back into the house. This will replace the current section 21 notice which has been nicknamed the “No fault eviction” notice, it may appear, on the face of it that this will give tenants greater security but in practice I don’t believe this will impact greatly on the relationship between Landlords and their tenants, most landlords won’t evict a tenant who is paying the rent!
There will be a reformed court process which will be digitalised which in turn will make the process quicker for all parties concerned. The Government are also planning to apply a decent homes standard to the private rental sector, currently this only applies to social housing.
The main points from the Renters (Reform) Bill are:
• Section 21 notices to end a tenancy will be abolished, however you will still be able to get your property back if you need it.
• All Landlords (whether they use an agent or not) will be required to join a new Ombudsman scheme which will help resolve any disputes between Landlord and Tenant
• A new digital platform will be created to help Landlords understand their legal obligations and to help tenants make an informed decision when entering into a tenancy agreement.
• All tenants will have a legal right to request a pet, which the landlord should not unreasonably refuse. The landlord has the right to request pet insurance to cover any damages caused by the pet.
• It will be illegal for Landlords or agents to have a blanket ban on tenants in receipt of housing benefit.
• It will be illegal for Landlords or agents to have a blanket ban on tenants with Children.
At this stage this is the only information which has been presented by the Government. As more details get released, we will understand what processes are going to change, I will keep you informed, in the meantime if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email me on r.heath@barbers-online.co.uk
In-house conveyancing with Barbers
You often hear people talking about the stress of moving home. With so much to organise, it's hardly surprising. You'll need a reliable, local solicitor for your conveyancing – and we know just the team!
Get an online quote today