The Renters (Reform) Bill aims to make renting a property more secure for tenants like you. It will introduce a raft of changes to how tenancies work, to help improve your rights and responsibilities as a renter. The bill is currently making its way through parliament, meaning that we have some time to wait before it becomes law and the new rules come into play. Here are the six top things that you need to know in the meantime.
- Your tenancy will soon become a rolling, periodic agreement, and you'll need to give two months' notice to leave
- Your landlord will need to have a specific reason to ask you to leave your home
- Your landlord will need to give you more notice of any rent increases
- You'll have the right to request to keep a pet in your rented home - but this doesn't mean that your landlord has to agree
- You'll be able to contact a new ombudsman if you have a complaint against your landlord - and see more details about rental properties too
- Landlords will soon have to meet new property standards
1. Your tenancies will soon become a rolling, periodic agreement, and you'll need to give two months' notice to leave
Although periodic tenancies do currently exist, fixed-term tenancies are more common. This is where you sign a contract to rent a property for a certain period of time, such as six or 12 months. You can also currently simply have a verbal agreement with your landlord.
This will change when the Renters (Reform) Bill comes into play, as your tenancy will become rolling and periodic. This aims to give you more flexibility in when you may wish to move out.
As there will be no fixed end date for your tenancy, you'll need to give two months notice to leave. That gives your landlord time to get a new tenant into the property - and gives you plenty of time to find a new home as well.
2. Your landlord will need to have a specific reason to ask you to leave your home
Currently, landlords can choose to evict tenants under a "no fault" eviction, giving only one month's notice for you to leave, for a periodic tenancy. However, that will all change when this type of eviction is abolished.
Your landlords will instead always need to have a reason to evict you - such as if you were to breach your tenancy agreement (e.g. not paying your rent), or if they wish to sell their property or have a family member move into the property.
Antisocial behaviour is another reason that a landlord can regain possession of their property - with a new definition clarifying that tenants "causing nuisance or annoyance" can be classed as antisocial behaviour.
3. Your landlord will need to give you more notice of any rent increases
Currently, your landlord only needs to give you a minimum of one month's notice before they increase rents on a periodic tenancy.
Under the new rules, you'll get at least two months' notice of any increase - in line with the length of your notice period - meaning that you'll get more time to consider your options.
You'll also have a clearer process to appeal any rent increases that you feel are unreasonable compared with market rates, through the First-tier tribunal.
Your landlords also won't be able to include any rent increase clauses in your contract, and these were only applicable on tenancies with fixed end dates.
4. You'll have the right to request to keep a pet in your rented home - but this doesn't mean that your landlord has to agree
For anyone that loves animals, this is good news - but doesn't mean that your landlord has to say yes to your request.
It simply means that you have the right to ask for it, and then your landlord has to justify their reasoning if they say no.
Your landlord would have 42 days to consider a written pet request, with an extra seven days if they need more information to make a decision.
5. You'll be able to contact a new ombudsman if you have a complaint against your landlord - and see more details about rental properties too
In the future, your landlords will need to be a member of an ombudsman. A landlord ombudsmen would help protect your rights, with "fair, impartial, and binding resolutions'' on a dispute, without needing to advance the problem to court.
Currently, letting agents need to be a member of a redress scheme, but that's not the case for landlords in England.
Similarly, landlords will need to register on a property portal, and upload certain details - yet to be decided - about their property.
That means that you'll have a clearer idea of how compliant your landlords are with their safety requirements, and therefore if the property you're looking to rent is a decent standard.
6. Landlords will soon have to meet new property standards
On the topic of standards, your landlords will soon need to make sure their properties meet the "Decent Homes Standard".
That's a standard that currently only applies to the social housing sector, but will soon come into play for private rental properties too. This isn't part of the Renters (Reform) Bill but is expected to be introduced alongside those changes.
The details have yet to be confirmed but this could mean that, by law, rental homes won't be able to have any serious health and safety hazards, such as fall risks, fire risks, or carbon monoxide poisoning.
It also means that landlords will likely have more responsibilities around repairing the property, making sure that kitchens and bathrooms are all "adequate" and homes should be warm and dry, among other proposals.
