The Renters (Reform) Bill | How it differs from the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016
A draft of the long-awaited, much-publicised Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced by UK Government recently, though landlords in Wales can breathe a sigh of relief, safe in the knowledge that the Bill only applies to England. Phew!
A number of landlords have approached us to ask if the Bill is yet another piece of legislation to contend with on top of the recently-introduced Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016. We can confirm it’s not, but now they’ve seen that Westminster's Conservative Government intend to go further than they have to give tenants added protection, Wales’ Labour Government are not about to be outdone, so have launched a consultation on possible rent controls. We'll save our thoughts on that for another time, but suffice to say they need to be very careful not to dissuade landlords from spending on their properties and/or cause a mass exodus of landlords from the private sector, when housing supply is already a huge issue.
Assuming England’s Bill is passed in more-or-less its current form, it will create three key differences between letting properties in England compared to Wales:
1. England will scrap Section 21 notices & ‘no-fault evictions’
‘No-fault evictions’ continue to exist in Wales, meaning landlords can still give their contract-holders (tenants) notice to leave when they want to reclaim possession of their property. This used to be done via the serving of a Section 21 notice, which has now been renamed under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act). Granted, the notice period landlords need to give is longer now, but it still exists as an option, at least.
In England, they’re intending to do away with Section 21 notices and, therefore, ‘no-fault evictions’ nearly altogether. Landlords will need to provide a specific reason for reclaiming possession from their tenant, and rely on the county courts to decide whether the tenant should be evicted. That said, there do still seem to be options available to landlords who are looking to sell or move close family in.
2. Tenancies in Wales continue to have an end date, but England’s will be open-ended
Under England’s proposed new Bill, fixed-term contracts will be outlawed, meaning every tenancy will be periodic/rolling without a specific end date. When you combine this with no-fault evictions being scrapped, it means tenancies will only end when a tenant gives notice to leave or a landlord seeks possession due to a breach of tenancy.
This has sparked fears that student tenants will continue to occupy beyond the end of their university term, causing headaches for landlords seeking to let to new tenants for the new academic year, and problems for students who may suffer from a lack of available accommodation as a result. It’s since been reported that these concerns have prompted the Government to think up a way of landlords being able to end student tenancies in line with the end of term.
Welsh Government continues to allow fixed-term tenancies, so there are no such worries here.
3. Landlords in England will be unable to “unreasonably refuse” pets
The Renters (Reform) Bill will ensure landlords are unable to unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home, with the tenant able to challenge unfair decisions via a new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman or the courts. Landlords in Wales are also unable to refuse such requests without good reason, but they remain able to reject pets from the outset of the contract: something which doesn’t appear possible under England’s proposed changes.
Instruct CPS Homes for added landlord protection
Welsh Government have a model Occupation Contract that they suggest most landlords and agents will use. We don’t, as the terms they’ve included as standard put landlords in a weaker position than they should be in.
Our enhanced Occupation Contract includes new-and-improved terms, whilst still being fair and abiding by the legislation. Take a look at the 10 reasons why we’re not using Welsh Gov’s model occupation contract. For all enquiries, call us on 02920 668585 or email lettings@cpshomes.co.uk
The information contained within this article was correct at the date of publishing and is not guaranteed to remain correct in the present day.
