Labour Renters’ Rights Bill: Explained for Central London Landlords 

The new Labour government has wasted no time in progressing plans for reforms in the private rental sector. The Conservative’s Renters’ Reform Bill didn’t pass into law in time before Parliament closed, but many of the issues being addressed in the old bill remain in Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill. 

There are also some additional plans included in the summary of the new bill measures. If you are a landlord in central London areas such as Soho or Marylebone, this guide will help you to understand how the new bill will impact you. 

What is Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill? 

The Renters’ Rights Bill is Labour’s new legislation aimed at reforming areas of the private rental sector to improve housing conditions, safety and rights for tenants. The Conservative government had been working on the similar Renters’ Reform Bill, which was scrapped, as it failed to make it over the line prior to the change in government. 

Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill includes multiple new measures to provide more protection to tenants living in private rental properties. Measures such as applying the Decent Homes Standard, which has been introduced to the social housing sector will also be carried over to private rental housing.  

The bill is also aimed at giving private renters more security so they can stay in their homes and build lives in their communities. 

Why Is It Significant For Landlords? 

The Renters’ Rights Bill brings a huge shake up to the private rental sector, with changes impacting both tenants and landlords across many areas of responsibility. Landlords will need to ensure that they comply with new requirements under the legislation, or they could face significant fines. 

Many currently acceptable landlord practices will be overhauled, including grounds for possession and rent rises, so landlords should start getting familiar with the key points from the 226-page Renters’ Rights Bill. 

While the Deputy Prime Minister Angela Raynor has indicated that the reforms should be welcomed by good landlords, there is still a lot of legislative changes and additional processes that all landlords, good and bad, will need to adhere to.  

Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill Explained 

 From the extensive current version of the bill that Labour has shared, these are some key measures for landlords to start preparing for: 

1 Section 21 No Fault Eviction to be Abolished 

The Conservatives had already made plans to abolish section 21 no fault evictions and Labour are also driving this change to eviction processes. Landlords who want to evict tenants must have a reasonable reason, such as selling the property, and landlords will need to serve an eviction under section 8 of the Housing Act 1998, including a specific reason. 

2 Changes to Rent Increase Rules 

The Renters’ Rights Bill will put an end to landlords rising rent above the market rates and tenants will have more rights around challenging rent increases. Currently, landlords have been able to increase rents by allowing bidding wars with prospective tenants, the bill will make it illegal for landlords to do this by ensuring that set, ‘asking rent’ is advertised.

3 No Unreasonable Refusal of Pets 

Historically, landlords have been able to refuse to accept pets in their property, but the bill provides stronger rights for tenants to request a pet. Landlords will not be allowed to unreasonably refuse a pet, but can request that tenants take out additional insurance cover for pet damage. 

The government will publish further guidance on the circumstances when landlords can disallow pets from property (for example, health and safety concerns).

4 Switching Fixed Term Tenancies to Periodic 

Another significant change that will impact landlords is the proposal to end fixed term tenancies so that all agreements are periodic. All existing and new tenancies will be rolling tenancies with tenants having the freedom to serve two months’ notice at any point. 

5 Decent Homes Standard for Private Sector 

The Decent Homes Standard that applies to the social housing sector will be extended to include private rental properties. This will introduce new minimum standards to tackle poor housing conditions, though many landlord properties will already meet much of the necessary criteria.

6 Awaab’s Law for All Rentals 

Similarly, the bill will extend Awaab’s Law across the private rental sector, which will establish set timescales for dealing with health-related hazards such as damp and mould. This should ensure more timely action is taken by landlords when tenants report damp or mould in a rental property. 

7 Anti-discrimination Rules for Landlords 

The bill includes anti-discrimination measures that are aimed at preventing discrimination by landlords against tenants who receive benefits or have children (and any other types of discrimination too). Landlords will be required to provide reasons for refusing tenants, and must generally do so on the basis of affordability alone, as well as some practical considerations like (e.g.) overcrowding.

8 Enhanced Local Authority Powers 

The government’s new legislation will empower local authorities to take stronger enforcement action against landlords who breach regulations. The civil penalties limit will be increased from £30,000 to £40,000 and councils will also have more power to enforce rent repayment orders. 

9 Grounds for Possession Changes 

With the abolition of section 21 no fault evictions, landlords will have to follow new rules to reclaim possession of their property using reformed, section 8 grounds. The new legislation requires landlords to provide longer notice to tenants. Landlords will not be able to evict a tenant to sell the property within the first 12 months and must give 4 months’ notice thereafter. Where tenant arrears are the cause for eviction, landlords will need to wait for 3 months’ arrears (increased from 2 months) before they can seek possession. 

10 Property Ombudsman and Digital Database 

The government is looking to establish greater transparency by introducing a digital database of landlords. This will contain personal information, compliance certification and details of properties let. Local authorities and prospective tenants will be able to browse this database to varying degrees, for reassurance of compliance and for local authorities to chase up landlords.

There will also be a new landlord ombudsman, and all landlords will legally be required to become members, paying an annual fee that is yet to be announced.  This is a service which lets tenants raise formal complaints about the state of their rental properties, and have the ombudsman adjudicate the issue to come up with a binding resolution for the landlord to follow (or to dismiss the case).

When Does the Renters’ Rights Bill Come Into Force? 

The Renters’ Right Bill was presented on 11 September 2024 and had its second reading in the House of Commons on 9 October 2024, so it still has several stages to go through before it will be passed into law. However, Labour have put a high priority of introducing reforms such as abolishing section 21 no fault evictions, and the Renters’ Rights Bill could come into force from spring 2025. 

There are still many steps that the Renters’ Rights Bill will need to go through before it is passed into law, but landlords should be prepared for some major changes.  

As an experienced letting agent in central London, we are here to help landlords to meet all the new requirements. Contact us if you would like to find out more about our property management services.