You may have noticed in the news that the Government has released its Rental Reform Bill White Paper – so just how will it have an impact on you as a landlord?
The white paper, entitled ‘A Fairer Private Rented Sector’ will be introduced by the Government in a bid to level up housing for tenants in the private rented sector (PRS).
As a landlord you will no doubt have questions about how this could affect your property and tenancies.
Over recent years there have been many changes to the PRS including the Tenant Fee Ban, EICR regulations and more. Rest assured our team at Clarendons are well versed on the issues and we always obtain the most up-to-date legal guidance and advice to ensure all clients are kept informed.
Below is a brief overview of some of the proposals outlined in the white paper:
- Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notices will be abolished and replaced with a ‘modern tenancy system’ – this means that landlords will only be able evict for reasonable circumstances such as wanting to move back in, selling the property or if the tenant is in breach of their contract.
- Tenants will be given the right to request a pet in the property which the landlord must consider and ‘cannot unreasonably’ refuse. As a side to this, the Tenant Fee Acts 2018 will be amended so landlords can request tenants buy pet insurance.
- It will be illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits. The government will also improve support to landlords who let to people on benefits.
- Introducing the ‘Decent Homes Standard’ to the PRS as part of its mission to halve the number of non-decent rented homes by 2030.
- A new property portal will be introduced to for all – but significantly landlords will have access to information about their responsibilities and compliance.
- The changes will bring in a new Ombudsman to help settle disputes between tenants and landlords without the need to court action.
We must stress this is all in the early stages and no set dates have been given at this point, but we will ensure we will keep current and future clients up to date.
Full details of the bill are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/a-fairer-private-rented-sector
