The Renters’ Rights Bill has its second reading
Here are some of the talking points from the second reading:
- Baroness Taylor said that “private purpose-built student accommodation will be removed from the Assured Tenancy System”
- Other Peers suggested that any exemptions for student tenancies should extend to landlords renting one and two-bedroom flats to students
- Conservative Peers criticised the Labour Government for rushing this legislation through without proper due diligence
- Some Peers still feel landlords will be driven from the sector, further exacerbating issues with supply and demand, whereas others insist that these concerns are overblown
- Concerns about the courts remain, despite reassurance from Baroness Taylor that the Government is working with the Ministry of Justice to ensure that it’s prepared for the Bill’s impact
- As bidding laws will be outlawed, there are fears this will simply result in much higher asking rents
- Although pets in lets were welcomed by many Peers because of their mental health benefits, the fact that there’s no comprehensive pet damage insurance policy could leave landlords at risk
- Many fear that local councils won’t be able to enforce new rental rules due to underfunding, despite their new powers
- A decrease of properties in the PRS may not necessarily be negative as long as the supply of social housing increases
- Concerns were raised about the impact on small-scale landlords who may struggle to remove problem tenants without long legal delays
- While the abolition of Section 21 is novel for the English market, it can learn lessons from Scotland’s adaptation to a world without no-fault evictions
- Although the Decent Homes Standard is welcomed by many, there are concerns about how small landlords would afford the necessary improvements without passing costs onto tenants
- Self-employed and international renters are likely to suffer from the banning of up-front rent payments