The Renters (Reform) Bill was first mooted in the Conservative Party’s Manifesto in 2019, and landlords and tenants have been waiting since then to see what form the legislation will take, and how this will affect them.

Key changes that were being proposed included:

• The abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions.
• The abolition of fixed term tenancies.
• The introduction of new grounds for eviction for landlords where they need to move back into the rented property as their principal home. This would also extend to their relatives, including a parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild, or their child or grandchild.
• Amendments and expansion to grounds for possession where the property needs to be sold.
• Amendments and expansion to grounds for possession for landlords to make it easier to obtain possession where the tenant is at fault– e.g repeated rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.
• Amendments to the procedures for proposing rent increases and challenging the amount or increase of rent.
• A new right for tenants to seek consent from their landlord to keep pets in the rented property.
• The creation of a national private rented sector database which will give tenants the information they need to make an informed choice before signing up to a tenancy agreement and to provide authorities with the information they need to take enforcement action against rogue landlords.
• A new private rented sector Ombudsman.
• The introduction of various penalties for breaches of landlords’ obligations.

The most significant of the proposed changes is the abolition of “no fault” evictions. Currently, a landlord who has let the property on an assured shorthold tenancy (most modern residential short-term tenancies are now automatically “assured shorthold tenancies”), may serve notice on a tenant giving them two months’ notice to vacate the property.

The landlord does not have to specify why they require possession and nor do they have to prove that there has been any default on the part of the tenant. If the tenant refuses to vacate at the expiry of the notice period the landlord can make an application to Court for an Order for Possession and, provided the landlord has complied with all the regulations governing assured shorthold tenancies, the Court is obliged to make the Order for Possession.

If section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions were to be abolished, it would mean that landlords would only be able to seek possession of the rented property in certain circumstances. This proposal arguably gives much greater security to tenants but could potentially cause great uncertainty for landlords. Attempts were made to redress the balance in the Renters (Reform) bill by making it easier for landlords to obtain possession in certain specified circumstances.

By the time the General Election was called, five years had passed since the Renters (Reform) Bill was first proposed. By this stage, the Bill had passed through the House of Commons, and it was in the committee stage in the House of Lords when Parliament was dissolved on May 30th 2024. Any legislation which has not been passed before Parliament is dissolved cannot be made law or carried over to the next Parliament.

This means that, if the proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill are to be made law, the process of passing the Bill through the House of Commons and House of Lords would have to commence from scratch. It will therefore be quite some time before any changes come into effect.

At the time of writing this article, the outcome of the election is unknown. However, as both main parties were committed to abolishing section 21 ‘no fault evictions’, it is likely that this key feature of the Renters (Reform) Bill will become enshrined in law at some point in the future.

It has been reported that the Labour Party wants to introduce more far-reaching reforms to the private rented sector than had been proposed in the Renters (Reform) Bill. It is difficult to predict what this would look like in practice should Labour win the election. If the Conservatives were to retain power, it would be reasonable to assume that they would put forward similar proposals as had been set out previously.

As reform of the private rental sector appears to be some way off, landlords should continue to comply with their current statutory obligations. However, given that the Renters (Reform) Bill sought to introduce various penalties for breaches of landlords’ obligations, it is likely that this will feature in any new legislation.

It is therefore vital that landlords keep abreast of future changes to the law. For would-be landlords thinking of investing in the residential rental market, it would be advisable to take legal advice and/or consult a reputable letting agent as it is becoming an increasingly regulated sector.