OFFICIAL: Renting reforms to move forward towards Royal Assent

The Renters (Reform) Bill is to get its next parliamentary airing on Wednesday 24^th April, it has been confirmed.
Official who allocate bills time within the parliamentary timetable have published the date within its official diary.

This will see the Bill move to its report stage and third reading, during which any further amendments can be made before it enters the Lords for scrutiny.

The progress was signed off by the Tory party’s 1922 Committee last week and is now confirmed.

A DLUHC spokesperson says: “We are absolutely committed to the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will have its remaining stages in the House of Commons next week.

“This Bill will abolish Section 21 evictions and deliver a fairer rented sector for tenants and landlords. We will continue to work across the sector to ensure it passes into law as soon as possible.”

Reform

But the Government will have to move fast in order to get the reform legislation through to Royal Assent, as the summer recess is only three months away and a General Election likely later this year.

Ministers, including junior housing minister Jacob Young have been under extreme pressure from all quarters including agents and housing campaigners to move the legislation forward.

There are several sticking points which will make this difficult. The key problem will be mollifying a group of nearly 50 Tory MPs who have said they may vote against the legislation in the Commons unless several concessions are included.

Evictions

These include a delay to the banning of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions until the court system is speeded up and the ending of selective licencing following the introduction of the Property Portal which will require all landlords and their properties to be registered.

The MPs also want to see tenants required to stay in a property for at last six months after ASTs are replaced by ‘periodic’ or open-ended tenancies.

Reaction

David Smith, a senior property lawyer at JMW, says: “The first, and in my view, most important is training. At the moment a great many agents have little or no training and they frequently give advice to their clients and others which is, at best, misguided and, at worst, downright wrong.

“Improving training in the sector would lead to better outcomes from all those using it and would also contribute to better business management and employee retention.

“The costs would not be substantial as there are already a number of different providers operating in different ways and businesses would also receive benefits from better trained and motivated staff which would offset some of the expenditure on training.”

Ben Beadle, Chief Executive ofthe National Residential Landlords Association says: “Our focus has been on ensuring that when section 21 repossessions end, the replacement system works and is fair, to both tenants and responsible landlords.

“Tenants should rightly be empowered to hold rogue and criminal landlords to account to root out the minority who bring the sector into disrepute.

“However, it is vital thatthe majority of responsible landlords have confidence in the Bill to provide the homes for rent the country needs. The amendments proposed by the Government strike that balance.

“It is now important to provide certainty to the market, so it can transition smoothly to the new system.  We therefore call on MPs to ensure swift passage of the Bill through Parliament with the Government’s planned changes. This should be underpinned by action to improve the justice system for renters and landlords alike.”