Renters Reform Landlords Forced To Allow Pets, Notice For Rent Rises Double

Under proposed changes by the UK government, Landlords and Tenants alike may soon see some of the biggest changes in years, to the way they rent/live.

The government has been quoted as saying it plans to '“redress the balance” between landlords and roughly 4.4 million renters, across the UK.

So, what are some of the planned changes, and how does this affect you as a Buy To Let investor, or as a Tenant, in the UK:

• Proposed ban to Section 21 ‘No-fault’ evictions.
  Under the current system, landlords are allows to serve notice and evict tenants with seemingly no reason. According to recent stats quoted by Sky News, “More than a fifth of private renters who moved in 2019 and 2020 did not end their tenancy by choice, figures suggest” - that’s roughly 800,000 renters.
  

• Landlords forced to accept pets.
  According to The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities - landlords in the UK "must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse" anyone with a pet(s). Pets are a contentious issue for many landlords as often will see higher maintenance costs. Recent figures quoted by The Guardian suggest “just 5pc of landlords allow animals in their properties, the lowest share in five years”.
  As part of proposed plans, it’s thought landlords will be granted powers to request tenants with pets have insurance to cover any potential damage as part of the reforms.
  

• Decent Homes Standard
  For the first time, proposed plans are expected to see private sector housing required to be free of any hazardous, health and safety, issues. Seems crazy that we are even talking about this being a thing in this day and age, however across the UK, the conditions that many live in truly are below standard and cause serious risk to health. Soon all renters will have access to clean and usable facilities.
  

• A pledge to end arbitrary rent review clauses
  Under this proposed plan, tenants will have stronger powers to challenge poor practice, unjustified rent increases and enable them to be repaid rent for non-decent housing. As a result, Landlords will be under pressure to improve standards of living quicker and the quality of housing will improve as such.
  

• Notice periods for rent increases will be doubled and tenants will have stronger power to challenge rises if they are unjustified.
  

• It will become illegal for landlords or agents to have blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits.
  

• All tenants will be moved on to a single system of periodic tenancies, meaning they can leave poor quality housing without remaining liable for the rent or move more easily when their circumstances change.

It’s clear that some changes support Landlords, however the reform is pitched towards the protection of Tenants across the UK. The above changes are due to be announced Thursday 16th June 2022. The information above has however been provided via The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

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