By Tilly Smith

Campaign and Partnerships Officer, Generation Rent

Few things have been received with as much anticipation by housing campaigners and activists as the Renters (Reform) Bill. In May, the government introduced the long-awaited bill to parliament, four years after their original commitment to ending Section 21 evictions. But how, exactly, will the bill, in its current form, affect private renters? And what more needs to be done?

The biggest change the bill will bring is the scrapping of Section 21 evictions. These are evictions the landlord doesn’t need to give a reason for and are only required to give their tenants two months’ notice to leave. In practice, Section 21 makes it very easy for criminal landlords to evict tenants who have asked for repairs, something commonly referred to as revenge evictions.

It also enables landlords to evict tenants to move in new, higher rent paying replacements, or to turn the property into a short-term holiday let, removing a much-needed family home from the marketplace. Ending Section 21 evictions will provide a new security for tenants and will empower them to get their landlord to carry out repairs and contest rent rises.

However, the bill also seeks to strengthen Section 8 evictions. These are evictions where landlords must give a legally valid reason to evict a tenant. New grounds of eviction are set to be introduced for landlords selling the property and for landlords or close family to move into the property.

Under the current version of the bill, tenants cannot be evicted within the first six months of moving into the property but, after this protected period, need only be given a minimum of two months’ notice. Landlords will also not be allowed to re-let the property on the market for three months after evicting a tenant under these grounds. These short time frames leave these new eviction grounds open to exploitation by landlords, who may use them effectively as a ‘Section 21 by the backdoor’ to evict tenants in revenge evictions or to seek to replace them with a higher-paying tenant.

To mitigate the upheaval of these evictions, in our opinion, the notice period should be a minimum of four months to give sufficient time for them to find a new home. Tenants should also be immune from eviction under these grounds for at least two years and receive financial support from their landlord to move.

“One in eight privately rented homes are considered unsafe, and over 600,000 homes are estimated to fail safety standards. This situation won’t change until local authorities are properly funded and able to carry out the necessary inspections and enforcement”

The bill also seeks to change the requirement for evicting an anti-social behaviour tenant from one “likely to cause nuisance and annoyance” to the more ambiguous “capable of causing nuisance and annoyance”, again giving landlords a loophole if the bill isn’t implemented carefully.

That said, there are other positive changes outlined in the bill. All landlords in England will finally be required to register onto a new ‘property portal’. This could pave the way for improving professionalism in the sector by rooting out criminal landlords, streamlining the enforcement of regulations and empowering renters to fully utilise their rights. The bill will also bring in a new dedicated ombudsman where private renters will be able to lodge complaints when struggling with disrepair, poor standards and other issues.

It’s also expected that the government will extend the Decent Homes Standard, already in place in the social sector, to privately rented homes. If implemented correctly and adequately funded, this could improve the homes of millions of private renters.

It’s, however, important to note that many privately rented homes are currently unsafe, despite the already existing standards requirements in place. One in eight privately rented homes are considered unsafe, and over 600,000 homes are estimated to fail safety standards. This situation won’t change until local authorities are properly funded and able to carry out the necessary inspections and enforcement.

It’s also important to recognise the role that tenants can play in enforcing the new regulations. Often, we’ll be the only ones to spot non-compliance, but we need clear financial incentives, such as Rent Repayment Orders, to take action and hold landlords to account.

The Renters (Reform) Bill has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of private renters in England. Some of the proposals are very positive steps towards a fairer deal for renters. However, the bill is still not strong enough, in its current form, to give tenants the security and safety that they need in their homes.