Introduced on 17th May 2023 to parliament, The Renters (Reform) Bill, pursuant to the 2022 private rented sector white paper, aims to deliver on the government’s plan to “bring in a better deal for renters”, which includes the ending of ‘no fault’ evictions. The bill aims to allay landlords’ concerns by strengthening Section 8 powers under which landlords can recover their properties.

Further regulation includes proposals for a new property portal and rental redress scheme, which aim to make it easier for landlords and tenants to resolve issues and for councils to track and penalise rogue landlords. Increased use of Section 8 could also make it easier to identify tenants with a history of rent arrears and antisocial behaviour, aiding the tenant referencing process and mitigating risk for those taking on new tenants.

The bill is still raw, of course. It will go through a long approval period and is subject to amendments. Currently, some of the important amendments brought about by the proposal include the end of AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy), limiting rental increases one per year, landlords should have reasonable grounds to refuse a pet, unification of redress schemes for landlords and tenants, new property portal.

More detail on the bill can be found here.