Renters Rights Bill becomes law in England

Government introduces new reforms to private rental sector
Housing

11 million private renters in England will now have more secure and fairer conditions, such as ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions which removes people from their homes at the whim of the landlord, due to the Renters Right Bill receiving Royal Assent on 27th October and becoming an Act of Parliament.

The Act has been broadly welcomed by housing charities and anti-poverty campaign groups alike. It contains several measures aimed at protecting and strengthening tenant’s rights, enabling them to have access to safer, more secure housing, including:

  • Making it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children
  • Removing fixed-term tenancies and replacing them with periodic agreements, offering more flexibility for tenants
  • Ending of rent in advance payments, unless specifically requested by the tenant
  • Setting clear legal expectations about the timeframes within which landlords must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards
  • Prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent
  • Giving tenants the right to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out
  • Introducing a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman to resolve complaints made by tenants against their landlord
  • A duty on landlords to appropriately consider and not unreasonably refuse requests from a tenant to have a pet in the property

BASW’s manifesto for social work – Time to get it Right – outlined a number of recommendations to the government for addressing the housing crisis, including the need to end the unfair and discriminatory ‘no fault’ evictions rule that can be enforced through a Section 21 notice. While successive governments have supported ending this power, it had never been repealed, leaving millions of families at constant risk of being uprooted from their homes at short notice and with no reason given. 

While the Renters Rights Act is excellent progress in the fight for better conditions for private renters, that fight doesn’t end here. The impact of the Act will be monitored by housing and homelessness organisations to check that it achieves what it intends to.

BASW will continue to campaign on housing rights that give people the security that they need to thrive.