NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle has told Housing Secretary Steve Reed and housing minister Matthew Pennycook of the need for a six month transition period before measures from the Renters Rights Act kick in.
Beadle says the six month period is “the absolute minimum amount of time” while the government has so far not given any timelines.
The NRLA says: “We expect an announcement on the timeline for implementation will come sooner rather than later.”
Beadle comments: “We now need to provide solid evidence as to why a minimum of six months is vital to allow landlords to prepare. The clock is already ticking, even though, as yet, we have no information as to which elements of the Act will be introduced first.
“We will then face another wait for the secondary legislation needed to confirm the wording of new tenancy agreements and other documents landlords will need.
“After that we will need time to draw up these documents and have them checked by experts to ensure they are legally sound. All this takes time, and with the Christmas break happening slap bang in the middle of it all, it is clear it will be only too easy for the weeks to slip by.
“This legislation has been years in the making, so there is no benefit to rushing the final stages. The Government needs to ensure everything is in place to support landlords to get it right first time.”
Beadle has additionally written to both Reed and Pennycook making the case for the minimum period of six months from publication of regulations.
To justify the time delay he says landlords and agents need training, landlords need to inform more than 11 million tenants in England about changes to their tenancy agreements, and solicitors need to fully understand the new possession requirements and the new mandatory contents of tenancy agreements.
Court procedures also have to be adapted, ready for an influx of in-person hearings, while internal letting agent processes and computer systems to be updated.
On top of all that, councils have to update policies and employ extra staff, and the Property Tribunal has to be prepared for an increase in rent appeals.
