The Renters’ Rights Bill (“RRB”) was introduced with an aim of providing “greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including by abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and reforming grounds of possession”. This article will examine these two key proposals and the effect they will have on the residential renting sector. It will also provide an update on the estimated legislative timeframe and the RRB’s anticipated implementation date.
The most significant proposal of the RRB is the abolition of the current procedure under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (“HA 1988”), which allows a residential landlord to end an assured shorthold tenancy in certain circumstances without providing a specific ground for possession. This procedure is due to be abolished, and, in future, residential landlords will no longer be able to rely on the section 21 procedure.
The RRB also proposes to abolish all assured shorthold tenancies and replace these with assured periodic tenancies. This will mean that tenants will be able to stay in a property (provided the landlord does not have a ground for possession as referred to below) until they decide to terminate their tenancy by giving at least two months’ notice.
In future, in order to obtain possession, a residential landlord will need to provide grounds for doing so, these grounds are currently set out in Schedule 2 of the HA 1988. The RRB proposes to update these grounds to allow a landlord to obtain possession in certain circumstances. This will also introduce new grounds, which include:
where a landlord wants to sell the property;
where a member of a landlords’ family wishes to move into the property;
antisocial behaviour by a tenant; and
repeated rent arrears by a tenant.
It is important to note that a tenant will benefit from a 12-month protected period once their tenancy has commenced, during which a landlord is prohibited from selling the property or allowing a family member to move in. Following the end of this protection period, a landlord will be able to use these two grounds by providing four months’ notice to the tenant, which should allow reasonable time for the tenant to find alternative accommodation.
The RRB also proposes to increase the threshold for eviction following rent arrears from two months to three months as well as increase the notice period from two weeks to four weeks.
The RRB is currently in the House of Lords Committee, with speculation that it will receive Royal Assent by summer 2025. The current version of the Bill can be access via the following link Renters' Rights Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament.
This note is intended to be a summary of the proposed legislation as of 23 April 2025. It is not intended as legal advice, which will depend on individual circumstances. We recommend that you take legal advice if you are affected by any of the issues above.
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