The Renters Reform Bill is the Act that seeks to abolish s.21 notices and ‘no fault’ evictions, inevitably making it more difficult for Landlord’s to obtain possession of their property let on an assured shorthold tenancy.
In our first blog on the proposed changes in January 2023 we asked the question “Will 2023 be the Year that Section 21 Notices are Abolished?” and whilst the answer to that question is clearly no, the question now is whether the proposed changes will be made at all?
We looked at the proposed changes in detail in our blog on “The Effects on Residential Landlords of The Renter’s (Reform) Bill”. Our Team also presented on the changes in July 2023 and to date, there have been no significant changes (despite widespread concern) on the Bill as drafted last Summer.
Within our presentation we speculated that the potential earliest date for the Bill to be become law would be October 2024. Are we now on track for s.21 notices to be abolished this year?
The Bill is still making it’s way through parliament and it is unknown when the next reading of the Bill will occur. The current government have restated their intention to abolish the s.21 eviction process and with the next General Election occurring around January 2025, it is still possible the act will come into force as early as October 2024.
During the King’s Speech in November 2023, it was said that the reforms to the private rental sector could not be introduced without reform of the court administration system to deal with such matters efficiently. Whilst we are sure all parties would welcome such reform; it seems unlikely there will be a radical overhaul of the current court system before the government seek to introduce the Bill. From the latest comments from Michael Gove, it is unclear whether court reform is still on the list of priorities for this government but it seems the Government has provided the ‘green light’ for section 21 notices to be scrapped in any event.
Whilst an October 2024 date perhaps seems an optimistic timeframe; both the current government and Labour are committed to making changes to the rental sector and it is, therefore, likely changes will be made. Over a year on from our first blog asking the question on when changes will be made, we are non the wiser on when it may come into force.
Landlord’s can take some comfort in the fact that when the act is introduced, the current proposals state that for existing tenancies the new provisions will not come into effect for a further 12 months; whilst this is not set in stone, we would not expect existing Landlords to have to comply immediately.
There are concerns from all angles to ensure that a fair balance is struck between landlords’ remedies and tenants’ rights. However, the upcoming General Election leaves very little time to ensure the process is as smooth as it can be. We will continue to keep up to date with any changes and share these with you, so you are prepared.
If you are concerned about the changes and your ability to obtain possession of a property in the future, we recommend you seek advice now to see if there are provisions you can include within your tenancy agreement that may assist.
If you are interested in continuing to receive updates on this or you would like any further advice in respect of residential possession claims, please contact the team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our enquiry form and a member of the team will be in touch.