Legislation and compliance news and guides for letting agents and estate agents

Estate and letting agents who receive rent payments equivalent to €10,000 or more per month for a property have been subject to anti-money laundering legislation - the Fifth Money Laundering Directive which falls under The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) Regulations 2019 - since 10January 2020. To remain compliant, agencies that fall into this category must also register with HMRC by 10 June 2021.

After nearly 14 months of extended notice periods, the notice that landlords will have to give to their tenants will drop to four months from 1 June in England. This is the first step towards notice periods dropping to pre-pandemic standards, expected by 1 October 2021. The evictions ban in England also came to an end on 31 May, meaning that bailiffs can re-start the enforcement of possession warrants.

Much of the new legislation relevant to the rental and property sector that was set out during the pandemic will end in the coming months. Here's a breakdown of the key legislative dates that estate and letting agents need to know in England, Scotland and Wales.

This month, we're going to cover some stats from our Rental Index and take a mini deep-dive into how the Rent Protection landscape has changed quite dramatically in recent years, plus we've got a couple of big industry updates - all of which you can read or watch below.

The Government confirmed its intentions to repeal Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 in the May 2021 Queen's Speech, as originally set out in the Renters' Reform Bill, released in late 2019. An outline for the proposals will be released in Autumn 2021, which will consider the response to the consultation that took place before the pandemic. The abolition of Section 21 would put an end to so-called “no-fault evictions” as part of its on-going project to create longer tenancies. The government also announced concurrent plans to strengthen the grounds for repossession under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988.  

The Government confirmed its intention to make changes to Section 8 in the Queen's Speech May 2021 as a part of its Renters' Reform Bill, to make it easier for landlords and letting agents acting on their behalf to regain control of their properties when Section 21 is abolished. These changes will include  "strengthening repossession grounds for landlords under Section 8 when they have valid cause". The government's initial proposals, which we've summarised below, were set out in its consultation document in 2019.

Lifetime deposits are on the horizon, confirmed the government following the Queen's Speech in May 2021, announcing it would release its proposals for a new "lifetime" tenancy deposit model in Autumn 2021 as part of a sweeping package of reforms for the private rented sector. “Lifetime” deposits aim to “ease the burden on tenants when moving from one tenancy to the next, helping improve the experience of those living in the private rental sector”.

The Renters' Reform Bill is back on the agenda with the Queen's Speech confirming the government's intention to "enhance the rights of those who rent". In the briefing notes to the speech, the government announced that it would outline its "reform package" for the private rented sector in the autumn - which is set to include abolishing Section 21 and the introduction of lifetime deposits - with legislation to follow in due course. In a side event to the Conservative Party Conference 2021, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Eddie Hughes, confirmed that the proposals were still being debated to ensure there are no "unintended consequences" from the proposals.

The current guidance for letting agents and landlords on conducting right to rent checks on citizens of the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein is expected to change on 30 June 2021.

In February 2021, Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick announced a new mediation pilot in England and Wales, free to landlords and tenants and supporting the current court process for housing possession cases. This pilot has now closed, with the government proposing alternative solutions, such as "TDS Resolution, PRS Mediation Service and Resolve by Flatfair, which specialise in resolving disputes in the private rented sector which you may wish to consider".