Unless the Government makes urgent changes to the Renters’ Rights Bill as called for by politicians across the political spectrum the legislation stands ‘no chance of working’, landlords have warned.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA)’s Chief Executive Ben Beadle (main image) has made the comments ahead of the Bill’s Committee Stage in the Lords next week, which will see peers scrutinise its measures in detail.

The changes being called for are from Liberal peer Baroness Thornhill who says unless the justice is beefed up, landlords and agents will face even longer waits as all evictions go through the courts following the abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ repossessions.

Also, a cross-party group in parliament has also called for all student housing to be exempted from the ending of fixed-term tenancies and the roll out of ‘periodic’ open-ended ones, as currently all one and two-bedroom properties, which make up a third of the student lets, are currently not exempt.

The NRLA has also criticised provisions within the Bill that will see tenants able to build up 50% more rent arrears before they can be evicted by landlords under mandatory grounds, saying it will cause more ‘problem debt’ for tenants and make responsible landlords less likely to rent to those who struggle to prove they can sustain a tenancy.

The organisation has called for this to be reversed and has the backing of independent peer Lord Carter of Haslemere, a former legal adviser to No.10.

Constructive

“Ministers must back these constructive, sensible proposals to ensure the Renters’ Rights Bill works in practice,” says Beadle.

“Without changes the justice system will not cope, students will struggle to plan where they will live and responsible landlords will avoid the risk of taking tenants with a poor, or no, credit history in the UK.”

Main image credit: NRLA/UK parliament website.