How do the new renting laws affect you as a renter? We will go over the headline announcements in this article.
The vast majority of landlords across the UK are reputable and fair, working in the interests of their tenants and ensuring that they provide good quality housing that is safe and warm.
Certainly in respect of the clients that we work with, we ensure that they’re ethical and upstanding, always ensuring that the tenants and customers we work with are reassured that they’re working with professional landlords that know their obligations.
That being said, sometimes it benefits everybody to make the rules clearer and ensure that tenants get better rights regardless of whether the vast majority are reputable.
That’s what the government have now done with the introduction of new legislation which ensures that tenants get better protection and landlords are protected by having the rules set out clearly.
So, how do the new renting laws affect you?
The new legislation, presented to parliament by Michael Gove, aims to make it easier for tenants to get a better deal, and for landlords to better understand their rights.
The Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper, as reported by the BBC, aims to set out the new rules. Eleanor Lawrie reports “Landlords are to be prevented from evicting tenants in England without giving a reason, under proposals published in a government White Paper.”
The Renters Reform Bill will also end blanket bans on benefit claimants or families with children – and landlords must consider requests to allow pets.
Housing charity Shelter called it a “game-changer”.
For private landlords, the bill offers “greater clarity and support”, including:
- A private-renters’ ombudsman to settle disputes cheaply and quickly
- Ensuring landlords can efficiently recover their properties from antisocial tenants
- A property portal to help landlords comply with their responsibilities and tenants understand their rights
Protecting tenants
This means that as a tenant, in practice, your landlord will no longer be able to legally evict you for no good reason, and similarly won’t be able to ban you from keeping, or reject your application for, owning a pet.
Furthermore, landlords are no longer legally allowed to discriminate against benefit claimants, although in recent years this has been much less prolific as landlords understand that housing benefit claimants can be some of the most reliable tenants.
If you fall into arrears with your rent, or damage your property, or fall foul of the list of reasons landlords can apply for an eviction notice, then you can still be evicted, so this doesn’t mean that you’re not still subject to reasonable expectations.
As many of our clients can attest to, it’s also not always easy to be accepted as a new tenant with young children, so it will come as welcome news that this new legislation also protects young families too.
If you’re looking for a new rental property then why not get in touch with one of our specialists today to talk through your requirements?
