Millions of UK landlords will be adversely affected by the Renters Reform Bill, a solicitor warns - the latest law expert to identify the dangers of the legislation for buy to let investors.
The Bill, currently going through Parliament and expected to become law next year, will include a number of measures but is chiefly to satisfy activists’ demand to abolish the Section 21 notice.
Kristy Ainge - solicitor-advocate in the litigation team at Brindley Twist Tafft & James - says: “The main change is that a landlord cannot ask a tenant to leave if, for example, they want to move a friend into their property, or if for any reason they just don’t like them.
“The only way they can evict their tenants who are ‘not at fault’ is if they want to live there themselves, or move an immediate family member in, or if they want to sell the property. Even then, it will not be a quick process, because, if a landlord wishes to move into the property themselves, they cannot serve notice within the first 6 months of the tenancy”.
The changes will also allow tenancies to roll month by month meaning landlords who previously were entitled to six or 12 months’ tenancies will now be periodic and determined by the frequency that rent is paid. This gives tenants much more flexibility and removes the security for landlords knowing they have a tenant in situ for 6 or 12 months.
The reforms will give more rights to tenants who want to keep pets too. Under current legislation a blanket ban on all pets is allowed.
Most landlords take advantage of the ban for fear of potential damage caused by the animals to the property. Under new proposals, still to be discussed, a tenant has the right to request to keep a pet and the landlord will have no right to refuse the request without good reason. However, they may ask their tenant to cover pet insurance and home insurance to cover any damage.
Tenants who fall behind with the rent or who are causing anti-social behaviour are not protected by the laws and may still be evicted by their landlord in the usual way under the section 8 notice regime.
Ainge adds: “The new reforms will give tenants more protection but restricts what landlords can do with their own properties. There are expected to be some exceptions such as private student lets, though this is yet to be confirmed.”
Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions.
If any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.
Please help us by reporting comments you consider to be unduly offensive so we can review and take action if necessary. Thank you.
.jpg)
%20(002).png)
.png)
Join the conversation
Jump to latest comment and add your reply
We are held to ransom when the only way to get your property back vacant is to sell, fill government pockets and leave the market, therefore we are being forced out.
So only if you want to move in yourself or family, what percentage is that rubbish.
Landlords are already living in another property or they are not landlords but renter’s themselves.
So if they have to move into their Tenanted rented property in order to get it back.
What happens to their property that they have just moved out of, same problem they are being forced to sell that one or let to more sitting Tenants.
All very deliberate attempts to drive us out if they were concerned about Tenants Rents they wouldn’t have introduced the cause RRB, when the Licensing Scheme’s were too slow at destroying us but driving rents through the roof,
surely they are not complaining about high rents that were raised by legislation.
Hit Beadle inbox
ben.beadle@nrla.org.uk
And that is why so many LLs are selling up!
Problem is now that houses are not selling due to the Bank of England's rate rise.
I have had virtually no interest in selling one of my properties, despite reducing it.
We are stuck in the 'perfect storm'.
If we rent out we are leaving ourselves open to problems, especially here in Wales, where we have already got these restrictions.
If we sell, we are being shafted by CGT allowances and that is if you are lucky enough to be able to get rid of the property in the current climate anyway.
None of this articles is news to anyone surely….
Only those of us who lived through 1977 Rent Acts and dealt with protected tenancies and assured tenancies really appreciate and understand the depth of these draconian measures that RRB will bring about by abolishing Section 21.
Renters Reform Bill will hit tenants, because the vast majority of landlords will not be prepared to let under that regime. They will sell or switch to any other form of letting. There is nothing that the activists can do about that because, believe it or not, landlords own the properties, not the architects of that ridiculous bill.
Ferey is right, of course. The Rent Acts virtually ended the private rental sector for ordinary people. There were still categories of people who could rent a flat, but limited to those who only wanted to stay for a fixed length of time or who owned property elsewhere.
I inherited a tenant under the Rent Act - what a nightmare! Single elderly woman on benefits living in a 5 bedroom farmhouse. She spent nothing on it in 40 years because she had no money but sat there waiting to be paid to leave - we didn't! Eventually she left in her 80s after a Shelter supported barrister won her the right to stay but the costs of the maintenance, which she couldn't afford! House was making her ill, we were receiving very low rent, house was falling down around her ears, tax payer paying a fortune to keep her there, property devalued because of condition. It was a nightmare for everyone involved! Welcome back to the good old days!
So sorry to hear about your very difficult experience Tricia. People ruin their lives by waiting for money from the landlord to leave; they get their priorities entirely wrong.
You are quite right that the problems of the past are coming back.
You were very lucky Tricia, I had one similar to yours. But when she passed away, her daughter inherited the protected tenancy. Back in 2014 the daughter passed away and her daughter (the grand daughter) remained in the property as an Assured tenant. I then put the rent up, as legally I could, to the market rent. Housing then were paying £433.33 per colander month, but the market rent was £750.00. So I had to wait for the arrears to become two months and then use Section 8 to get her evicted. When we got to that stage, on the Hearing day, with the advise of a clever duty solicitor, she brought a counter claim for disrepair. Not only it was untrue, this was never mentioned before. She got legal aid and they instructed a chartered surveyor to come up with a report. The survey came up with minor things which was sorted by spending £300.00. Then I had to instruct my own surveyor that cost £600.00 to get a report that everything is just fine. Cut the long story short, I had to write off the arrears and start all over again. Five month later the arrears came up to over two months, she was offered a flat by the council and moved out. That is why I am selling and getting out. I have been there and I know what is around the corner.
Ferey,
I think in the White Paper it mentions they can't keep paying the rent late to get under 2 months. I suppose it's made it in to the RRB. But I would have thought once a landlords gives notice to sell there will be all sorts of counter-claims made to defeat possession.
I looks like a total nightmare ahead.
Hit Beadle inbox
ben.beadle@nrla.org.uk
Will banks continue offering mortgages for BTL under those draconian terms !
I would have thought we would have heard from lenders in the press. But looking how people get de-banked it appears they may remain silent in public. But I read on here someone stated that lenders are putting pressure on the government regarding the Renter's Reform Bill and it being bad for business... I guess they know there will be a lot less lending, and a lot more difficult to repossess.
I doubt any Bank will provide a mortgage if they can't liquidate the asset in the event the lender defaults.
I don't see how sec 8. Going through the slow court process is going to be acceptable.
No doubt the bill will eventually have a clause whereby the tenant van be evicted within 24 hours if the bank desires buy the Landlord won't even be involved.
Once RRB has become law, from then on every time you rent your property you will have to ask yourself "do I feel lucky"!!!!
Or am I using the right contract with the correct terms? There will be ways of letting which are not covered by the Renters Reform legislation and where you do not lose control of your properties.
There seems to be a lot of articles about how the RRB will adversely effect Landlords, with Shelter, Generation Rent, Khan etc making a lot of press out of the Bill, why are Landlords not seeking a voice?
Landlords are Businesses not Charities and it seems the Government are happy with Landlords having bad press while they talk about the RRB and not building more houses.
Think landlord blaming is partly a diversionary tactic, to deflect attention from not building enough homes. And from internal Conservative MPs rebellion over their own Government's 300,000 homes a year target.
The 'new' Govt. "brownfield first" is not new at all: Governments have been told this for at least since the early 1980s then Environment Select Committee report showing that (cheaper to build) green field building risked damaging regeneration attempts.
Governments not listening: what's new?
The ASB aspect is the real issue 😱 without s21 you will need that all important…. EVIDENCE 👮🏻♀️. At the moment you don’t, going forward you will, that is tenancy changing 🆘🆘. Saying it is easy…. Getting it is far more difficult 🤔🤔
As a landlord of thirty years, I am happy to see these fools demand rent controls. Like in Ireland, it will only serve to hike rents and reduce choice. Some landlords will leave. The rent hikes will help the rest of us survive the interest rate rises and EPC capital expenditure disaster now hitting the sector. So Khan and GR, you carry on and let’s see how this works out over the next 18 months.
Rents are already soaring in Scotland despite rent controls and no fixed term tenancy agreements.
Sell or move in an immediate family member that’s a good one as if they are likely to want to particularly live where you have the property but off to some other area.
How can I get evidence of people playing loud music? Do I have to drive around, park outside and sleep in my car with the windows open so I can catch them at it? If I am lucky enough to do that, can I record it on my iPhone? Will the judge accept this or say he cannot reasonably determine the noise is coming from the suspected source (the tenant's property) or another? Will he accept photographic evidence of the front of the house as being the landlord's property or say it could be any house? Will neighbours or the police or ANYONE provide anything in writing? Will the judge accept anything?
What about drugs? Can I put a GoPro camera on my helmet on my head and get a jar and capture the smell of weed (or cocaine or crystal meth or whatever), and take it somewhere who's willing to reliably test it, and confirm in writing it is drugs. Then will a judge be happy it is the tenant doing it, and not some BS mystery visitor, or the smell is coming from a neighbouring property?
Mmmmm.... Lots of questions. No confirmed answers...... But I know the answers.... But there is only one important answer: SELL SELL SELL
Nick - my job brings me into contact with these people 👮🏻♀️ It won’t happen ! It can take years for the housing association’s to evict due to ASB . We will be done for, this is the real hidden issue. The witnesses will not help the Police, and without that conviction in court nothing will happen. This is very very bad.
Agree Simon.
They are supposed to be lowering the bar so a conviction is not required. But the cynic in me says it will still require all of the evidence to the same level requiring a conviction, it's just we don't actually need the judge's hammer to confirm an actual conviction. So basically I see no change, but with no S21 no solution for landlords!!! :(
Landlords leave PRS = less rental properties = higher rents for Tenants.
You will always get the odd rogue Landlord or Tenants but the present system has worked fine in the majority of cases - if it ain't broke don't fix it. TENANTS WILL BE THE LOSERS.
Hit Beadle inbox
ben.beadle@nrla.org.uk
Its baffling that lawyers and property experts are only now realising the harm this unconstitutional, nefarious and evil bill will do.
Its going to second reading next session, why weren't these issues argued by that berk Beadle who pretends to be speaking fir Landlords but is only speaking fir himself and other corporate landlords who the Tories are in the pocket of.
No real private landlords appear to have been allowed any input into the consultation in this bill but conversely every left wing Marxist group from the Fabians to the Socialist workers seem to have had their input.
Hit Beadle inbox
ben.beadle@nrla.org.uk
Hit Beadle inbox
I complained to him, but he doesn't seem to want to listen
Hit his in box if you can
ben.beadle@nrla.org.uk
seems to me that the nrla are a waste of time
Please login to comment