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Renters’ Rights Bill amendments will ensure it ‘works as intended’

Renters’ Rights Bill amendments will ensure it ‘works as intended’
Shekina Tuahene
Written By:
Posted:
14/01/2025
Updated:
14/01/2025

The changes proposed to the Renters’ Rights Bill are a series of “targeted changes” to ensure “the bill works as intended”, the housing minister said today.

Opening the Commons debate for the report stage of the bill, Matthew Pennycook MP said: “Our Renters’ Rights Bill will modernise the regulation of our country’s insecure and unjust private rented sector, levelling decisively the playing field between landlord and tenant.

“It will empower renters by providing them with greater security, rights and protections, so they can stay in their homes for longer, build lives in their communities and avoid the risk of homelessness.”

Announced last week, the Government tabled amendments to the bill, including proposals to restrict rent in advance payments to one month and prevent student leases from being signed before March in the year they are intended to start.

Speaking today, Pennycook said the changes would ensure an improved quality of privately rented housing, so renters had access to good-quality and safe homes, while cracking down on the minority of scrupulous landlords.

He said a “modest number of improvements” to the bill were needed after it was first announced in July.

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Cracking down on bad landlords

Pennycook said limiting rents in advance to one month would stop unscrupulous landlords from setting tenants against each other in bidding wars or altogether excluding renters who would otherwise be able to afford monthly payments.

If a landlord does this, they could face enforcement from the local authority or a fine of £500. 

Landlords will also be unable to include clauses that require “unreasonable requests” for rent to be paid early once the tenancy has commenced or have the effect of the rent being paid before the due date. Pennycook said tenants would still have the flexibility to make payments in advance if they wished to do so.

He said this would ensure “the financial outlay to secure a tenancy will not exceed the cost of a tenancy deposit and the first month’s rent”.

Referring to an amendment regarding landlord repossessions on the grounds of carrying out redevelopment work or moving the tenant to decant accommodation, Pennycook said the accommodation tenants were relocated to would need to be affordable, in a suitable location and not overcrowded.

This accommodation must also be let on a temporary period, pending the tenant being moved to an assured tenancy or equivalent. Landlords must also give tenants notice that the accommodation is provided on a temporary or decant basis or face a fine of up to £7,000.

Another clause was added to ensure long leases continue to function by excluding leases over seven years from the assured regime. Pennycook said these leases were typically used in leasehold purchases and shared ownership properties, and said some unscrupulous landlords could use this to “circumnavigate the new assured regime”.

He said landlords had the ability to potentially issue leases longer than seven years with a break or early termination clause that is operable in the first few years.

Pennycook added: “Tenants must not be cheated out of the assured tenancy regime’s protections.”

He said the amendment would exclude all leases over 21 years from the assured regime.

“This will act as a much stronger deterrent to landlords who seek to avoid the assured tenancy regime,” Pennycook added. It would also exclude existing leases between seven and 21 years to ensure they operate as intended.

MPs are still debating the amendments and will vote on the changes this evening. 

This article is based on one that was first published on YourMoney.com‘s sister site, Mortgage Solutions. Read: Renters’ Rights Bill amendments will ensure it ‘works as intended’, says housing minister