If you didn’t like the Tory version of rental reforms, you may not like the Renters’ Rights Bill.
That was the ominous warning from Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
The Bill was published this morning, confirming bans on “no-fault evictions,” in-contract rent increases and bidding wars.
Beadle said on LinkedIn after meeting with government ministers: “Pleased to have spent an hour with Minister Pennycook and Baroness Taylor of Stevenage with a discussion ahead of the Renters’ Rights Bill.
“All I call say is that if you’re an agent or landlord that didn’t like Michael Gove’s version, you probably won’t like this one.”
A statement from the NRLA issued later yesterday afternoon said it is vital that the Bill works and is fair to both tenants and landlords.
Beadle said: “The end of Section 21, ‘no explanation’ repossessions represents the biggest change to the sector for over 30 years.
“Once the Bill is passed, it is vital that sufficient time is provided to enable the sector to properly prepare. Over 4.5m households will need tenancy agreements updating, letting agent staff and landlords will need to undertake training and insurance and mortgage providers will need to adjust policies and rates.
“None of this will happen overnight and the Government needs to publish guidance.”
He highlighted that the cross-party Housing Select Committee has warned that without reforms to ensure the courts process cases much more swiftly, they risk becoming overwhelmed, adding: “This will not serve the interests of tenants or landlords seeking justice.”
In respect of plans to improve the quality of rental housing, Beadle said: “Too often the actions of a minority of rogue and criminal landlords have brought the sector into disrepute. We therefore support measures to ensure every rental home is of a decent quality, and swift action is taken where standards threaten the health of tenants. However, this all needs to be backed up with robust enforcement by councils.”
