Changes to Renters Reform Bill after Easter
The government has written to Conservative MPs promising changes to the Renters Reform Bill to ease concerns over its anti-landlord bias.
Amendments the Government plans to table to the Bill include:
- Accepting a proposal by the cross-party housing select committee that when fixed term tenancy agreements end, “tenants be unable to give two months’ notice to leave until they have been in a property for at least four months.”
- Reviewing the operation of the courts before ending section 21 for existing tenancies to ensure the justice system can cope with the increased workload.
- Ensuring all types of student housing, including one and two bed properties, are covered by the planned ground for possession to protect the annual cycle of the student housing market.
Ben Beadle, Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association says: “All the rumour, speculation and off-the record briefings about the future of the Bill has caused a huge amount of concern and uncertainty for tenants and responsible landlords.
“The Government has a mandate to end section 21 repossessions. Our focus has been on ensuring that the replacement system works, and is fair, to both tenants and responsible landlords. The changes being proposed would achieve this balance.
“Ministers now need to crack on to ensure the Bill can proceed with the scrutiny it deserves.
“The lack of progress and uncertainty about the future is destabilising and damaging for those living and working in the private-rented sector. It is time to bring this to an end.”
