According to the government, the new renter’s reform program will “redress the balance” between landlords and the estimated 4.4 million private tenants in England.
As part of the government’s new arrangement for private renters, plans to prohibit “no-fault” evictions and make it simpler for tenants to have pets will be presented.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities are preparing to release its white paper on a fairer private rented sector, which it characterizes as “the largest shake-up of the private leased sector in 30 years.”
Among the plans that will be announced on Thursday is a commitment to abolish section 21 “no-fault” evictions, which allow landlords to end tenancies without providing a reason.
More than one-fifth of private tenants who relocated in 2019 and 2020 did not terminate their tenancy voluntarily, according to data, and 8 percent were requested to leave by their landlord.
These types of eviction notifications are controversial, and the government vowed three years ago to prohibit them.
The white paper states that landlords “must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse” all tenants’ requests to keep a pet in their house.
The new arrangement will also, for the first time, extend the decent housing standard to the private sector, meaning that dwellings must be free of major health and safety dangers and landlords must maintain homes in excellent shape so that renters have clean, suitable, and useable facilities.
According to the government, the new renter’s reform program will “redress the balance” between landlords and the estimated 4.4 million private tenants in England.
Additional measures include:
• A pledge to end arbitrary rent review clauses, give tenants stronger powers to challenge poor practice and unjustified rent increases, and enable them to be refunded rent for substandard housing; • Notice periods for rent increases will be doubled and tenants will have stronger power to challenge rises if they are unjustified; • It will be illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those receiving benefits; • It will be illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to All tenants will be transitioned to a single system of periodic leases, allowing them to leave substandard housing without remaining liable for rent or to relocate more readily when their circumstances change.
The government notes that about 2.3 million private landlords in England will have “more clarity and support” as a result of the following new proposals:
• The creation of a private renters’ ombudsman to enable disputes between private renters and landlords to be settled quickly, cheaply, and without going to court; • A pledge to ensure that responsible landlords can gain possession of their properties efficiently from antisocial tenants and can sell their properties when they need to; • The introduction of a property portal that will assist landlords in understanding and complying with their responsibilities, while providing councils with the ability to monitor landlords’ compliance; and
The leveling-up secretary, Michael Gove, stated that the revisions will assist to alleviate the cost of living difficulties encountered by tenants.
Before the publishing of the white paper, Mr. Gove stated: “For too long, many private renters have been at the whim of unscrupulous landlords who neglect to repair homes and allow families to live in damp, hazardous, and chilly dwellings while threatening them with unfair “no-fault” evictions.
“Our New Deal for renters will help remove this inequity by enhancing the rights and living conditions of millions of tenants as we level the playing field across the nation and fulfill the people’s priorities.”
The government reported that the circumstances of more than half a million residences – or 12 percent of households – constitute an immediate threat to the health and safety of tenants, equating to over 1.6 million individuals living in substandard housing.
The measures demonstrate that ministers are “taking serious steps to halve the number of poor-quality leased houses across both private and social tenures by 2030” and achieving their leveling-out objectives, according to the report.
The provisions will be included in the Renters Reform Bill, which will be brought during this parliamentary session, as indicated in the Queen’s Speech.
The government introduced the Social Housing Regulation Bill last week, which imposes unlimited fines and Ofsted-style inspections on failing social housing landlords.
Since the beginning of 2019, nearly 230,000 private tenants have been presented with no-fault eviction notices giving them two months to vacate the premises.
It is feared that the rising cost of living coupled with a rise in evictions could render thousands of private tenants homeless and exacerbate the housing crisis.
In response to proposed changes, the National Residential Landlords Association stated that “the subsequent details must maintain the confidence of responsible landlords.”
Ben Beadle, chief executive officer, stated: “We will carefully examine the government’s plans to ensure they pass this standard. In a time when tenants are struggling to obtain adequate housing, failure to do so will deepen the housing problem.”
Director of Generation Rent Alicia Kennedy stated that the white paper is “extremely welcome” but added: “More than three years have passed since the government originally vowed to eliminate section 21 evictions.
In that time, thousands of tenants have been evicted by their landlords, and many more will live in limbo until this law is passed.
