Get the latest on the Renters' Rights Bill, what changes to look out for and when it's expected to become law.
Published February 2025.
The Renters' Rights Bill is draft legislation and could change before it becomes law.
Private rented sector reform so far
The government first announced that it intended to abolish section 21 notices in April 2019. Since then, with no change in the law, more than 108,000 households have been served with one. Now, nearly six years and four prime ministers later, it looks like the Renters' Rights Bill is finally about to bring the change into force.
The previous government brought the Renters (Reform) Bill to Parliament, but called a general election in July 2024, before it became law. The incoming government also committed to abolishing section 21 in their manifesto and have now brought forward a new Renters’ Rights Bill.
The progress of the Bill
The Renters' Rights Bill had its second reading in the House of Lords in February 2025 and is expected to become law around the middle of 2025. It will be known as the Renters' Rights Act when it comes into force.
The exact date that any changes will come in is not yet known. Some provisions will only become law when additional regulations are made, which will probably take months and possibly years.
Section 21 notices to be abolished
The main headline of the Bill is the abolition of section 21 notices. These notices are currently widely used by landlords in the private rented sector to evict tenants without stating a legal reason. This is known as a 'no-fault eviction'.
The removal of section 21 will be achieved by abolishing assured shorthold tenancies completely. All private rented tenancies will become assured tenancies.
There will be no more fixed term tenancies in the private rented sector after the Act comes into force. All assured tenancies will become periodic, also known as rolling.
When will section 21 actually end?
Section 21 and assured shorthold tenancies will cease to exist from a specific date, to be confirmed by future regulations. Most assured shorthold tenancies will become assured tenancies automatically when this happens.
If a landlord has already served a valid section 21 notice before the Act comes into force, the tenancy won't immediately become an assured tenancy. Landlords will have a maximum of three months after the commencement date to start possession proceedings under the section 21 notice.
New eviction rules for private landlords
After section 21 is abolished, private landlords will only be able to evict a tenant using a section 8 notice. Section 8 applies to assured tenancies and requires the landlord to prove grounds, a legal reason why possession should be given.
The Renters' Rights Act will introduce new grounds and make changes to existing grounds. Grounds will include when the landlord wants to move into or sell the property and specific grounds for supported accommodation and 'stepping stone' accommodation.
Changes to mandatory grounds for rent arrears
Changes introduced in the Act give tenants more time to resolve their arrears to avoid eviction on mandatory grounds. Mandatory grounds mean that when a landlord can prove the grounds are met, the court must grant a possession order.
Ground 8 is the mandatory ground for rent arrears. A private landlord can serve a notice on mandatory grounds to evict a tenant who is in rent arrears over a certain threshold.
The threshold for rent arrears under ground 8 will increase from 2 months to 3 months.
When rent is paid weekly, the threshold will increase from 8 weeks to 13 weeks.
The notice period for ground 8 will also increase from 2 weeks to 4 weeks.
Rules when the landlord is selling or moving back in
A landlord will be able to evict tenants so they can sell or move back in to the property, but they won't be able to do this within the first 12 months of the tenancy.
Landlords will need to give a tenant four months' notice before they can apply to court on these grounds.
Landlords will then be restricted from re-letting the property for 12 months. A landlord who breaches these rules might be subject to a rent repayment order or could even be prosecuted. Local authorities will have powers to impose financial penalties for breaches.
Tenancy deposits, gas safety certificates and EPCs
Under current rules, private landlords need to protect the tenancy deposit and provide the tenant with a gas safety certificate and energy performance certificate to serve a valid section 21 notice.
Landlords will still need to make sure that any tenancy deposit is protected, and they won't be able to evict a tenant using a section 8 notice if they haven't done so. Landlords who have not protected the deposit will be restricted from gaining possession on all grounds, except those for antisocial behaviour.
The rules on gas safety certificates and energy performance certificates won't carry over to section 8 notices, so a landlord won't be restricted from gaining possession for failing to provide these.
Tenant's notice to end the tenancy
All private tenants will have periodic tenancies, also known as rolling tenancies, after the Bill becomes law. Any existing fixed term tenancy will become periodic, so tenants and landlords will no longer be tied into long contracts.
A monthly periodic assured tenant can currently end their tenancy by serving a valid notice to quit with one months' notice. The Bill plans to increase the period for a valid notice to quit to two months.
Rent increases and bidding wars
Currently, a private landlord can increase the rent by agreement with the tenant, through a rent review clause or by serving a section 13 notice once a year.
Under the proposed new rules, landlords will only be able increase rent through a section 13 notice. Rent review clauses in tenancy agreements will have no effect. Landlords using a section 13 notice will need to give a tenant two months' notice of any increase, rather than one month. Landlords will only be able to increase the rent to the market rent for the property.
Tenants will continue to have the right to challenge the section 13 notice in the First-tier Tribunal. The Tribunal can currently set an even higher rent than proposed by the landlord. After the Act comes into force, the Tribunal will only be able to set a figure the same or lower than the section 13 proposed rent, and the change won't be backdated.
The government plans to restrict landlords from requesting more than one month's rent in advance when signing up to tenancies.
Bidding wars
The government wants to put an end to bidding wars for private rented properties, an increasing problem in recent years.
The new rules will require properties to be advertised with a specific rental figure. A landlord or agent must not invite, encourage or accept offers of rent payments higher than this amount.
A local authority will be able to impose a financial penalty of up to £7000 if they are satisfied that someone has breached these rules.
Rights to keep a pet
The Bill plans to give all assured tenants in the private rented sector the right to keep a pet in their home, if they make a request and the landlord consents. Landlords should not refuse consent unreasonably.
A tenant must make their request in writing and provide details of the pet. The landlord can ask for additional information about the type of pet and must give or refuse consent in writing within 28 days of the request.
Landlords will be able to ask that a tenant has insurance to cover pet damage or pays towards the landlord's insurance.
New rules on private rented sector disrepair
The government plans to introduce new rules for housing conditions and disrepair by extending the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's law to the private rented sector.
The Decent Homes Standard sets out minimum requirements for social housing conditions. Awaab's law set out a new duty for social housing landlords to deal with hazards in line with regulations. The law was introduced in 2023, but the regulations needed to implement it for social housing have not yet been issued. The government intends to implement Awaab's law for damp and mould in social housing from October 2025.
New regulations will set out when and how these rules will apply in the private rented sector. As any changes are dependent on further secondary legislation, the new rules might not come into force straight away.
Rules to combat discrimination in the PRS
The Bill proposes new provisions on discrimination in the private rented sector. Under the new rules, a landlord or their agent must not prevent someone who has children or might need to claim benefits, from accessing information, enquiring about or viewing a property, or entering into a tenancy.
Landlords and agents will still be able to take account of a tenant's income to determine if they can afford the rent.
Clauses restricting landlords from letting to people with children or who claim benefits will be banned from tenancy agreements, landlord mortgages, insurance contracts and superior tenancies. Local authorities will have powers to take action for breaches and to impose financial penalties.
New private rented sector Ombudsman
The government intends to create new rules requiring private landlords to join a landlord redress scheme or Ombudsman, as social landlords are already required to do.
In social housing, the Housing Ombudsman investigates tenant complaints about landlords. When an investigation finds failings, the Ombudsman makes recommendations for how the landlord can put things right and can order the landlord to pay compensation. An Ombudsman for the private rented sector would have similar powers.
The new requirements could mean that a landlord must be registered before a property can be put on the market.
It's not yet clear when the redress scheme might be introduced, as the government will need to introduce additional regulations.
Private rented database
The Renters' Rights Bill sets out provisions for a new database of all residential landlords and private rented accommodation. The database will record which landlords have been subject to banning orders, financial penalties or other relevant offences. Landlords, tenants and local authorities will all be able to access the database.
Under the proposals, a landlord will be restricted from gaining possession or even advertising a property unless they are registered. The database won't be brought in until extra regulations are made, and how it will work in practice or when it will be introduced is not yet known.
Local authority enforcement of the new rules
Many of the new rules rely on enforcement by local authorities, so the Bill also proposes new duties and powers for local authorities. Local authorities investigating breaches of key housing law provisions will have powers to enter certain premises without a warrant and to require the production or allow the seizure of documents.
A local authority or occupier can apply for a rent repayment order if a landlord has breached certain rules. The circumstances where a rent repayment order can be made will be extended to cover new offences, including knowingly or recklessly misusing a possession ground and breaches of restrictions on letting or marketing a property.
The use of local authority enforcement powers will be crucial to the success of the reforms, but with council budgets extremely stretched, it's not clear how this will work in practice.
What next?
The Renters' Rights Act is expected to become law in the middle of 2025.
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