The Renters Reform Act is here

[Mark Rocks]

The Housing Secretary has long promised ‘the biggest shake up of the rented sector for 30 years’, and now we’re finally seeing more detail. 

The “Fairer Private Rented Sector” white paper was published yesterday, and contains much of what we already knew – such as the removal of “no fault” evictions (balanced with a strengthening of landlords’ grounds for possession), and the introduction of a new “property portal” so compliance information is publicly available.

There are also one or two surprises – such as preventing landlords from “unreasonably” withholding the right for a tenant to keep at pet. 

The bill still hasn’t been introduced to parliament and there will be lengthy notice periods before major changes. Still, there’s plenty to dig into – and we’ll be doing so on the podcast very soon. 

If you've read it, what do you think this will mean for landlords? Are you happy with these proposed changes, or do you think this will put people off becoming investors?

[EvolutionBlogger]

Many landlords will complain, but it's actually a good thing in my view. As long as a tenant is paying market rent on time and not damaging the property, I don't think landlords should be allowed to kick someone out

For too often, slumlords give the rest of us a bad name

[Julia Urquhart]

I think this is populist law pandering to the tenant bodies - Shelter / Gen Rent etc.

I agree 'No Fault' evictions are harsh - but most aren't 'No Fault' and if S8 was actually effective LLs wouldn't use S21. I would prefer to see longer notice periods - perhaps 1 month per year of tenancy.

My concern is that S8 will not be significantly strengthened & that going to court to remove a tenant in rent arrears or behaving badly will still be a long & costly process for LLs.

As for pets - the problem became worse when pet deposits were removed & insurance is not a viable alternative in my book. Saying LLs can't withold permission unreasonably is not the same as having a right to have a pet & a lot of tenants will be disappointed that they still can't have one. Until pet deposits are reinstated many LLs will resist this.

Blanket bans on pets & children (not even heard of that) will not be a problem. In the same way as 'No DSS' isn't really a problem - LLs will just choose other tenants for other reasons - ie better credit history.

The biggest problem here is that many LLs see this as the last straw. Extra taxation, extra regulation etc have put most costs on to LLs and now they will sell up. At a time when we are in a housing crisis - low availability, high cost, large rent rises - this is the last thing the market wants or needs.

However, this will be small numbers compared to the exodus that will occur if EPC C comes in.

[Mark Rocks]

Both are valid arguments!

I agree with @EvolutionBlogger - fair landlords will already be adhering to the vast majority of these new rules and regulations and providing their tenants with a safe and fair renting situation.

But as @Julia Urquhart says, this may ultimately have an impact on landlords who are already feeling stressed with extra taxation and regulations that have already put their costs up.

I've also never heard of a landlord having a blanket ban on children before?? But perhaps it doesn't happen very often, which makes referencing it in this new paper somewhat confusing to me.

[EvolutionBlogger]

The market is hot right now. It's definitely a landlords market. Children and pets are seen as a negative in many people's eyes