Renters’ Rights Bill Latest: Summer Scuppers Royal Assent
Renters’ Rights Bill Latest: Summer Scuppers Royal Assent
It’s the property Bill that just won’t progress. The Conservative party’s incarnation of the legislation – the Renters’ Reform Bill – was lost during the wash-up process when parliament was dissolved ahead of the last general election.
Now, a similar occurrence has happened to the Labour party. Its Renters’ Rights Bill – a beefed up version of what the Conservatives proposed – failed to gain Royal Assent before parliament was dismissed for its summer recess.
When checking the Bill’s progress on the UK Parliament’s official website, there’s an ominous sand timer icon by the ‘consideration of amendments’ stage. Rumours suggest the Bill will return to the House of Commons for its final debate around 8th September. It’s a crucial stage as the amendments made by the House of Lords will be discussed.
The last days before parliament broke for summer saw a flurry of information seep into the property sector. The lettings industry is trying to digest a list of amendments, suggested by the House of Lords, that have the potential to alter the final version of the Bill. These include:
- Surprise inspections made permissible
The House of Lords agreed that local councils could conduct unannounced inspections of privately rented properties, without giving the landlord any warning. The landlord would only know about the visit after it had happened. The local council would still have to follow the existing law that stipulates a tenant must be given at least 24 hours’ notice to enter the property.
- Creation of a specific pet damage deposit
A further amendment was made regarding ‘pets in lets’. With landlords being pressured into more readily accepting domestic animals in their properties, there was mounting concern around the matter of pet damage – specifically who would pay for repairs. The initial proposal was for landlords to be able to insist a pet damage insurance policy was taken out by the tenant (or by the landlord with the cost covered by the tenant). The Lords, however, has heeded advice that the insurance industry was not ready for such a reform.
Instead, landlords will be able to request an additional three weeks’ rent to create a pet damage deposit. It is expected that the Tenant Fee Act 2019 will be amended to allow for this new fee.
- Possession protection for all student lets
Landlords and letting agents in the student let market were particularly worried about the scrapping of fixed-term tenancies in favour of mandatory rolling periodic tenancies. Their fears about how this would disturb the delicate equilibrium in private student accommodation have been listened to, with an amendment to Ground 4A of the Bill.
This will allow landlords of all student lets – including one- and two-bedroom properties – the right to regain possession to prepare for new students in line with a new academic year. In a previous version of the Bill, this right had only pertained to landlords who owned HMO (houses in multiple occupation) student lets.
- More thought regarding rent challenges
While the Renters’ Rights Bill centres on just that – giving renters more rights and power – there have been concerns about how the UK court system would cope. The Bill aims to streamline the process tenants go through when challenging what they consider unfair rent rises. This, however, would likely see an increase in appeals.
The House of Lords has listened to evidence that suggests the first-tier tribunal system would be overwhelmed if rent appeal numbers surged, so it agreed there should be some form of triage to filter cases before they reach court.
- The resale of previous lets made easier
In a bid to stop unscrupulous reletting practices, the is a clause in the Bill that seeks to curb how freely landlords can start and stop letting their properties. The caveat targets landlords who decide to exit buy-to-let and put their property up for sale.
In cases where a former buy-to-let failed to sell, the landlord would be banned from reletting the property for 12 months. An amendment has cut this to 6 months, with the condition there is fair marketing and that all suitable offers of rent submitted are considered by the landlord.
Suggested… but not safe
Although the House of Lords had made amendments that many consider a set of good, common-sense decisions, they may not be adopted in the final Bill. When parliament reconvenes in September, there will be a process known as ‘ping pong’. This is when the amendments suggested go back and forth between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Discussions, concessions, watering down and cancellation are all highly likely, so the amendments we have outlined above may never materialise.
As ever, Viewber is keeping a keen eye on the progress of the Renters’ Rights Bill and we hope to report back with a definitive version of the legislation in the autumn.
