Responsible landlords need confidence in Tory renting reforms to prevent homelessness

MPs will this week conclude consideration of the Renters Reform Bill almost a year after it was published.

More than 100 pages of amendments will be debated against the backdrop of increasingly heated back and forth over whether the bill achieves its objective of fully ending Section 21 ‘no-fault‘ repossessions.

The constant speculation over recent months about the fate of the bill has caused anxiety for tenants and uncertainty for responsible landlords. Privately, I’m sure ministers would agree that the strategy for getting this bill through parliament should have been handled better.

The National Residential Landlord Association has long accepted that Section 21 is going and has remained focused on a fair and workable replacement for the sector. Our research shows that almost 70% of landlords could live with the end of Section 21, provided an effective system is introduced which enables them to regain possession of a rental property where they have a legitimate reason.

Generation Rent has warned that “landlords selling properties is a leading cause of homelessness”. The logical response is to ensure that this bill provides the confidence responsible landlords need to stay in the market.

A number of amendments proposed to the bill, which would ensure that confidence, have been the subject of intense reporting. Putting the rhetoric to one side, these changes will help to make better, and more enforceable legislation.

The bill seeks to end the use of fixed-term tenancies. Under the new system tenants will be able to give two months’ notice to leave.

The lack of a minimum fixed term, as UK Finance has previously pointed out, could make mortgage lending to the rental market more difficult. This is hardly likely to help when there are not enough homes to rent to meet demand. Furthermore, de facto short-term lets could end up breaching planning laws in local areas, including London.

Amendments that would delay tenants giving two months’ notice to leave a property until they have been living in it for at least four months have been painted as extreme pro-landlord concessions. However, they enact a recommendation of the cross-party, Labour-chaired, housing select committee. The committee argued that this provision would ensure a balance “between security of tenure for tenants and a degree of certainty for landlords.”

There is no desire to trap tenants in unsound or dangerous circumstances. Those facing unsafe housing conditions, should be able to leave at any point. The government urgently needs to outline how this will happen.

Proposals for the government to publish a review of the ability of the courts to cope with ending Section 21 have been met with concerns that this is simply a delaying tactic.

Ministers have been warned repeatedly, over many years, that the courts need to be ready for the increased workload they will face when Section 21 is abolished. In 2018, the government itself recognised this when it consulted on the creation of a housing court. The Law Society has warned that the reforms will be “in vain” without investment in legal aid and the courts. Yet there has been a woeful lack of progress on this front.

Without improvements to the justice system, when Section 21 goes, tenants may be unable to enforce their new rights. According to The Law Society, almost 44% of the population do not have a housing legal aid provider in their local area. The Renters Reform Coalition is right to argue that access to justice is “imperative” to ensuring the provisions of the bill work for tenants.

Likewise, it cannot be right that it can take up to seven months from a court organising a hearing to repossess a rental property under the Section 8 process (which requires the landlord to prove their reason for needing to end a tenancy) to them getting the property back. This includes cases where landlords have to contend with serious rent arrears or instances of anti-social or criminal behaviour.

Alongside a court review therefore, we need urgent action to ensure tenants and landlords can enforce their rights in the bill.

Finally, plans to develop a ground for possession related to student housing are needed to protect the annual cycle of the market and the viability of universities. It will ensure landlords have confidence that properties will be available for students at the start of each academic year. That is why it has the support of the Labour-led Local Government Association.

The chief executive of Crisis recently declared that it is vital that the Renters Reform Bill “protects tenants, prevents homelessness and supports responsible landlords.” We agree. Getting that balance right is how to ensure a healthy and thriving rental sector.

Ben Beadle is chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association

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