What is going on with the Renters Reform Bill
In this blog about the Renters Reform Bill, I’ll be covering:
- What was expected to happen with the Renters Reform bill
- Where we are now
- Why is this important for you to know
You may recall I blogged about the Renters Reform Bill at the end of June and– even then I said that is looks as though this legislation had been put out there to take our minds off Party Gate!
At that point we were expecting legislation to be pushed through in October to hit the books in April 23 with the following:
- Changing assured shorthold and assured tenancies to periodic tenancies
- Abolish the section 21 notice and provide landlords with new possession grounds particularly for non-payment of rent and unsociable behaviour
- Extend the decent homes standard to the private rental sector
- Create a new ombudsman
- Introduce a new property portal
None of which would do anything to help increase the supply of properties to the private rental sector.
What happened next
The government decided that they would like a new shiny leader that didn’t tell fibs about their social life which meant there was a fall out with the ministers that were to deliver this legislation.
Eddie Hughes (the minister that was behind the legislation) and Marcus Jones, another junior housing minister (who had been in post for 2 months), resigned in September. Eddie Hughes has been replaced by Lee Rowley with Simon Clarke being appointed Housing Secretary. Clarke was previously Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, before being moved to the post of Minister of State for Regional Growth and Local Government in the February 2020 reshuffle. Later that year he would resign from the position for personal reasons. He will be the fourth housing secretary who has been in post in the space of a year.
What this means is the only certainty is…nothing will hit the statute books until later next year…if it does at all.
Any concerns?
If you have any concerns with regard to the section 21 notice please just give me a call on 01480 494939.
