#044 Private Renting Revisited
Return of the Renters Reform Bill
The new Labour government intends to bring back, modify and rename the Renters’ Reform Bill which was a bill that made it through the House of Commons under the previous conservative government but stopped short of becoming law when Rishi Sunak called the July 2024 election he went on to lose spectacularly, taking the conservatives to their lowest vote and seat share ever.
The conservative government pledged to reform the private rental sector as far back as April 2019 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-announces-end-to-unfair-evictions) and later, in their December 2019 manifesto under Boris Johnson, they pledged to implement the bill.
In the end they completely failed to do so and renters are still waiting.
Labour’s latest (2024) manifesto has similarly promised to overhaul the regulation of the private rented sector, this time specifically promising to abolish the section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction clause, to empower tenants who wish to challenge unreasonable rent increases and to help raise housing standards in private rentals. The Labour government also intend to rename the bill the Renters’ Rights Bill.
This means private renters have a second chance of securing vital changes to law that could help transform private sector renting forever in England. The question has now become, what will be changed and how will it affect the relationship between private renters and private landlords.
Twenty organisations supporting and representing private renters, including national housing charities, renter unions, advice centres and think tanks, all campaigning for private renting reform, have over recent years come together and formed a “renters reform coalition” dedicated to pressuring the government of the day to bring forward the bill and help sculpt it in ways they argue would be best for renters up and down England & Wales.
They went as far as to make a blueprint guide containing information about all of the changes they would like to see in the bill and will once again scrutinise the bill a it passes through parliament.
https://rentersreformcoalition.co.uk/sites/default/files/RRC%20Blueprint%20for%20Reform.pdf
