Rental reforms ‘to deliver on promise to transform lives of millions of tenants’
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New legislation will modernise how the country’s “insecure and unjust private rented sector” is regulated, the Government has pledged as rental reforms are again debated in Parliament. MPs are to consider a ban on what Housing Secretary Angela Rayner branded “outrageous upfront costs” demanded by landlords from new tenants.
An amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill, back before the House of Commons on Tuesday, proposes to cap advance rent payments at one month’s rent. Landlord groups have warned such a move could leave property owners open to risk if tenants have no other way of proving their ability to pay rent on an ongoing basis.
The groups, including the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), British Property Federation and Propertymark, said the Government’s proposed changes “risk making access to rented housing harder for the very people we want to support”.
But the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said landlords would still be able to require a security deposit of up to six weeks rent, giving them the confidence tenants can sustain their tenancy agreements. The proposed changes also include a long-awaited end to section 21 “no-fault evictions” and protections for bereaved families, with guarantors – often family members – no longer being forced to pay rent for the rest of the tenancy where a loved one has died.
