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We've created a series of videos breaking down five key aspects of the Renters' Rights Bill that could significantly impact the private rental sector. These videos aim to explain the potential benefits and unintended consequences of the proposed changes, helping you understand how they might affect tenants, landlords, and the wider rental market. If you would prefer to read our thoughts, you can do so further down this page.
With our decades of experience and daily insight into the lettings market, we have plenty of our own thoughts on the government's plans to change the renting landscape. Many of the proposed changes will benefit tenants, however we believe some of them will actually make renting harder for plenty of tenants.
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Section 21 evictions are being abolished under the Renters’ Rights Bill, removing the option for landlords to regain possession without a reason. Instead, landlords must rely on expanded Section 8 grounds, which now include updated mandatory and discretionary reasons for eviction.
The government believes this shift will give tenants more stability, helping them settle in their communities. Once the bill becomes law, Section 8 will be the primary legal route for landlords to recover possession of their properties.
As part of the rental reforms, new mandatory eviction grounds are being introduced alongside updates to discretionary ones, aimed at helping landlords regain their properties when there’s a valid reason. Click here to see a list of the eviction grounds:
With the prominence of Section 8 increasing, landlords will face additional responsibilities. Section 8 notices are more complicated than Section 21, leading to increased administrative burdens. This is where a good agent becomes worth their weight in gold, ensuring to stay on top of the new legislation and navigating the new rules with confidence where a landlord might be uncertain.
Using the correct grounds in Section 8 notices is critical because mistakes can result in notices being rejected by the courts, which will likely worsen eviction delays, which were already significant in late 2024. As court reforms are not expected to take effect prior to the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill, prolonged delays can harm tenants, landlords, and agents alike. Tenants may face larger debts, and landlords could endure extended rent arrears or property damage.
Preventing court involvement is the best way to avoid delays, so tenant quality becomes a top priority. Placing reliable tenants can reduce eviction risks and property issues. Detailed tenant referencing is essential, helping verify a tenant’s identity, employment status, income, and rental history. Thorough checks provide the confidence that tenants are less likely to fall into arrears or allow properties to deteriorate.
Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) will be replaced by periodic tenancies.
When the bill becomes law, all existing and new ASTs will automatically switch to periodic tenancies, requiring tenants to give two months' notice to end their lease. There will be no minimum term, so tenancies will operate on a month-to-month basis, with the aim to give tenants greater freedom to leave substandard properties. This rolling structure is designed to provide more tenant flexibility and discourage landlords from neglecting property conditions. This in theory would not adversely affect good landlords with high quality properties.
The shift to periodic tenancies will require agents to update tenancy contracts, ensuring they reflect the new rules. While this change will initially be an administrative burden, any modern agent using e-signature software can digitise the process and streamline it for maximum efficiency. Surveys show that over half of tenants prefer fixed-term arrangements, but these will no longer be allowed.
The Renters’ Rights Bill introduces major changes to standardise rent increase procedures. After the abolition of ASTs, Section 13 will become the sole method for increasing rent, meaning rent review clauses, renewed fixed-term agreements, and written agreements will no longer apply.
Additionally, landlords must now provide tenants with a two-month notice period before increasing rent, doubling the current one-month requirement. While this creates more predictability for tenants, landlords and agents will need to adapt their processes to manage these changes effectively.
The Renters’ Rights Bill will lead to a series of changes in how rent increases are handled, increasing the possibility of rent hikes and increasing tenancy administration. Under the new rules, landlords can only raise rent once per year, and if they miss the timeline for a rent increase, they risk losing out on potential income.
Tenants will have enhanced rights to challenge rent hikes, and landlords must ensure that any rent increase aligns with the local market rates. The new EPC regulations, which will require landlords to make their properties more energy efficient, may also contribute to rising costs, potentially pushing rents higher.
With all this change looming it can feel a bit difficult to understand the real world implications. Here, we break down some of the intentions vs the possible envisaged realities.
Intention: Removing Section 21 introduces indefinite tenancies, aiming to provide tenants with greater security.
Reality: Landlords may become risk-averse, excluding tenants with uncertain income or poor credit due to the extended process to regain possession. Indefinite tenancies may still end for rent arrears, affordability, or landlord requirements, offering little real change in security for tenants.
Intention: The government intends to ban advance rent payments to remove barriers for housing benefit tenants who may struggle to meet such requirements, making renting more accessible to them.
Reality: While this may assist housing benefit tenants, it excludes students without guarantors, gig workers, and those using advance payments to meet affordability thresholds. These groups may face fewer rental options, relying instead on costly guarantor services equivalent to a month's rent.
Intention: Banning rental bidding aims to create transparency by ensuring tenants know the maximum they’ll pay when viewing properties.
Reality: Landlords may inflate advertised rents to account for the restriction, causing less transparency and driving market rates higher. This could result in tenants paying more and skewing data for annual rent reviews, perpetuating rising rental costs.
Intention: Allowing no minimum term contracts provides flexibility for tenants to move quickly due to personal or property-related issues without being tied to long-term agreements.
Reality: Landlords may hesitate to invest in property upgrades without tenancy length guarantees. Student housing and short-term visitor rentals could face disruption, with residential properties replacing traditional short-stay options like Airbnbs or hotels.
Intention: Extending the rent arrears threshold from 2 to 3 months and requiring 4 weeks’ notice before legal action aims to give tenants more time to resolve financial issues.
Reality: This change pushes arrears to 18-19 weeks before court proceedings even begin, leaving tenants with higher debts and landlords facing prolonged financial losses—benefiting neither party. However, in our experience most tenants want to stay long-term, pay a fair rent, and be looked after when issues arise, reinforcing the value of good landlord-tenant relationships.
Intention: To provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlord.
Reality: This will work alongside the current Property Ombudsman which already exists to resolve disputes between tenants and property agents. The Landlord Ombudsman will cover tenancies where no agent has been instructed as a medium between parties. This will not be relevant for landlords who already rent their property via an agent.
Until the bill passes into law, we can't officially comment on best practices or absolute consequences - however with our experience and continued research on the subject we are preparing ourselves for the necessary changes to our business as a result of the lettings shift. Our aim is to keep things transparent and ensure that our owners and our residents understand how the changes will impact them. If you have read our content above on the topic and still want to know more or discuss any of the impending changes, please don't hesitate to give us a call,
Call Today on 0207 033 1901or if preferable, use our contact us form.
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