The Generation Rent activist group says it’s pressing the government to enact the specific measures of the Renters Rights Bill as soon as possible.
When the Bill receives Royal Assent and passes into law – expected as soon as next week – the government is expected to name an implementation date, or dates.
Trade bodies and other professionals have called for six months or more to ensure a smooth transition, while some specific measures are expected to require secondary legislation anyway, which could take some months.
But Generation Rent has issued a warning saying it wants implementation as soon as possible.
Earlier this week Peers in the House of Lords voted to reject several proposals that would have balanced the legislation. These included:
- Rejecting reducing the “no re-let” period to six months after a landlord evicts a tenant to sell the home. This means landlords will still be banned from re-letting a property for 12 months if they evict a tenant to sell the home, making it harder for unscrupulous landlords to abuse the system;
- Rejecting extending the student possession grounds to one and two bedroom properties, which would have put postgraduate and mature students at risk of eviction at the end of the academic year;
- Rejecting a proposal for landlords to request an additional pet deposit. We believe the existing five weeks’ rent is enough to cover damage by a pet;
- Rejecting a new possession ground for a landlord to evict a tenant if they wanted to house a carer. We thought this could have been easily abused by landlords to evict.
The Bill will return to the House of Commons on Wednesday for what is expected to be a very brief debate before it goes to Royal Assent and passes into law.
