The Renters' Rights Bill explained: what came out of Parliament's second reading?

On Wednesday 9 October the Renters’ Rights Bill returned to Parliament for second reading. As the first reading (or the introduction of a bill) is more of a formality, this was the first opportunity for MPs to debate the bill in the House of Commons and show their support for England’s 11 million private renters. There was a lot to be positive about from a private renters’ perspective; key issues Shelter has been campaigning on, like ending no-fault evictions, tackling discrimination and introducing rent stabilisation, all formed integral parts of the debate. Shelter supporters were a huge part of this – several of whom had their private renting stories read out by MPs in the house.

So, what are our key takeaways from second reading? Ending Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions were supported across the house (which is great), the government are in ‘listening mode’ about capping rent in advance requests (positive and something to work with) and despite getting a lot of support across the debate from MPs calling for it, limiting in tenancy rent increases are a missing piece in this Bill. All of this means that we head to the next stage of the bill process with a lot to play for, but in a strong position.

Ahead of second reading

In the few weeks since the Renters’ Rights Bill was announced, we have been busy speaking to MPs about what the bill gets right (and what needs to be defended), and what can, and should, be pushed further. If you would like a reminder of what these were, you can find everything you need to know in the previous blog. It was encouraging to see important issues raised, and vital stories and evidence to back them up.

On the morning of second reading, the Conservative Party filed a motion to dismiss the bill on the grounds that it fails to deliver security and affordability for tenants while respecting landlords' property rights and will reduce the supply of housing in the private rented sector. This intervention was not unexpected, yet thankfully, the debate was dominated by much more positive contributions and the government steadfastly defended plans to give renters greater security and protections – and the Conservative motion to scrap the bill was defeated comfortably.

While the five-hour debate covered the whole spectrum of the private rented sector (including a lot of chat about pets), we have a few key takeaways.

An end to Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions

It has been a long time coming, but this bill means we are finally going to see the back of Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’, for both new and existing tenancies. This has been promised to renters since 2019, but the previous government failed to deliver it when their Renters (Reform) Bill was repeatedly watered down and, ultimately, dropped ahead of July’s general election.

In the debate, there was support for the immediate abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions from both sides of the house. This is hugely welcome - last year alone, over 26,000 households were at risk of homelessness as a result of this type of eviction.

However, to truly outlaw ‘no-fault’ evictions, the government needs to protect people from unfair rent hikes that would effectively kick them out for no reason. Without this measure, the government cannot truly say they have outlawed ‘no-fault’ evictions – more on this below.

Potential movement on requests of 'rent in advance'

One of our key asks for tackling discrimination in the private renting sector is to limit requests of rent in advance to one month. This was picked up by several MPs in the debate, including Florence Eshalomi, who is the current Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee.

Rent-in-advance requests can be a hugely inhibiting factor for low-income households and people who receive housing benefit to access the private rental market. At present, landlords have relative freedom when selecting tenants, often exploiting this freedom to impose near-untenable conditions on prospective tenants, such as demanding large amounts of rent in advance. Groups such as women, single-parent households, Black and Bangladeshi households, and people with disabilities – who have protected characteristics under the Equality Act - are particularly impacted by these sorts of discriminatory practices.

While the government believe they're tackling the issue, Angela Rayner said they are in “listening mode” on this one and Matt Pennycook said he is “entirely open to keeping it under review.” This is positive to hear, and we hope the government are true to its word and finally cap this discriminatory practice.

Limiting in-tenancy rent increases is the missing piece in this bill

Rent increases and affordability were hot topics throughout the debate; unaffordable rent increases were mentioned a huge 44 times, by 21 different MPs. We know this reflects what matters to renters right across the country, which must be tackled as part of this bill.

Over 300,000 renters have been forced out of their homes by a rent increase in the last five years. At present ‘market rent’ serves as the current ceiling for rent increases, which means many unfair rent increases would still be permitted in the current system. To truly abolish no-fault evictions, extortionate rent increases have to be addressed; which are as good as an eviction for many. With the abolition of Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, we anticipate more landlords may turn to rent hikes as an alternative method to achieve the same result.

The minister opposed the introduction of rent caps, which was disappointing to see given the widespread support for measures to tackle eye-watering rent increases throughout the debate.

Despite all of this, Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook reiterated in his closing remarks that while they “recognise the risks posed to tenants by extortionate within-tenancy rent rises”, they remain “opposed to the introduction of rent controls”, citing that they could incentivise landlords to increase rents up to the cap, while pushing landlords out of the market.

We want the bill to limit in-tenancy rent increases, so they are in line with either inflation or wage growth. We don’t think it’s right to reject MPs’ concerns and it is not a concession we will accept easily as we know that tenants cannot have true security in their homes until they are free from the fear of extortionate rent hikes.

What next?

As the bill was voted through, it will now head to committee stage and from our perspective, there is a lot to work with going forward. Committee stage will be several sessions going through the bill line-by-line and two oral evidence sessions, over the course of a few weeks.

For the last five years, the vision we’ve been campaigning for together is closer to becoming a reality for England’s 11 million private renters, and we are positive there is a lot more we can win in the next few months before the bill passes into legislation.  

Deputy PM, Angela Rayer, introduced the debate by emphasising “this is not just a renters reform bill; it is a Renters’ Rights Bill.” We will be keeping the pressure on, to ensure that this bill delivers genuine security and safety for renters, as well as proper protection against discrimination. 

If you support better rights for renters, join our campaign today.