More than seven years after reforms were first promised for renters, the long-awaited Renters’ Rights Act has arrived.
Thanks to the ground-breaking bill, no-fault evictions will be abolished from 1 May in what is the headline change.
No-fault evictions make it possible for landlords to evict tenants without giving them a reason, and are considered a leading driver of homelessness.
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The Renters’ Rights Act is also designed to drive up standards through Awaab’s Law and a new decent homes standard.
Further, it aims to prevent landlords and letting agents creating bidding wars and will give tenants more security and rights, including to keep a pet.
The legislation has been praised as the “biggest change to renters’ rights in a generation”.
What changes are coming with the Renters’ Rights Act?
On 1 May, several changes are being brought in by the Renters’ Rights Act, which will have an impact on renters in England.
The changes are laid out on the website of the government.
Abolishing section 21 evictions, which Generation Rent describes as a “leading cause of homelessness”, is among the changes.
Thanks to a section 21 eviction, a landlord can ask a tenant to leave without having to provide a specific reason or fault, which is why it’s often called a no-fault eviction.
However, in the majority of cases, under the Renters’ Rights Act, a landlord will only be able to evict a tenant if they want to sell, move into, or move a family member into the property, with notice periods doubling from two months to four.
What this means is that renters will have more protection from being evicted from their home on short notice.
The Renters’ Rights Act will bring in rolling tenancies for all, rather than a fixed-term rental agreement that lasts for a set period, an end to rental bidding wars and more power for tenants to challenge rent hikes, among the other changes.
While tenants will be given the right to request a pet and more powers to hold their landlord to account, landlords will only be able to charge four weeks’ rent upfront.
According to renters and community union Acorn, the Renters’ Rights Act marks the biggest change to renters’ rights in a generation.
Across England, it said that it will affect around 12 million renters.
Meanwhile, officials from Citizens Advice said that the legislation will “address the historic power imbalance in the private rental sector and give tenants the security they deserve in their homes.”
What do the changes mean for tenants?
The ability to challenge rent hikes and ending section 21 evictions are among the biggest changes for renters.
In recent years, private rents have reached record highs, rising 8% in the last two years alone.
On average, that’s almost £1,200 more expensive over the course of a year.
Rent increases are limited to once annually, thanks to the new legislation, and if a tenant believes the rent increase is above the market rate, they can dispute it through a first-tier tribunal.
As it has helped 2,335 people with a no-fault eviction in March according to Citizens Advice, renters have told the Big Issue about how being evicted under section 21 has affected their lives.
What do these changes mean for landlords?
As non-compliance may be met with fines, landlords will have to be aware of all of the changes laid out in the legislation.
If a landlord continues to allow bidding wars for rent on their properties, for example, fines can be up to £7,000 for minor or initial non-compliance and up to £40,000 for repeat offences.
As section 21 is abolished, landlords will have to use other grounds for eviction to repossess a property.
Section 8, which allows a tenant to be evicted after accruing more than three months of rent arrears, is included.
The government website has explained other grounds for eviction, but they include swift measures to recover a property in the case of serious anti-social behaviour or even as a result of being convicted of an offence during a riot.