The Renter’s Rights Bill (RRB) is in the Report Stage in the Lords and is being debated in various sessions between 1-15 July. After the Report Stage the Bill will have its Third Reading on 21 July and then enter the “ping pong” stage where a Bill is sent back and forth between the Commons and Lords to resolve disagreements over the content of the Bill.

After the “ping pong” stage the Bill is in its final form and gains Royal Assent. An implementation date has yet to be announced which is the date when the Bill comes into force and has legal effect.

It is unlikely for the Bill to gain Royal Assent before the summer recess which starts on 22 July. In which case Royal Assent will be granted in the Autumn before parliament stops for the party conferences on 16 September.

Some of the key changes proposed by the Government being debated are as follows:

Transition arrangements for rent in advance: The Bill does not allow payment of rent in advance. However, the government has granted that if an agreement is in place before the implementation date that requires rent payable in advance (e.g. payment every quarter) then there will be no need to change the payment pattern.

Pet insurance: The government has removed the ability of landlords to insist that tenants either take out pet insurance themselves or pay the landlord to take it out. There is now nothing that landlords can do to cover the additional wear and tear caused by pets, other than charge a “pet rent”, provided that doesn’t take the overall rent above the market rent. Landlords cannot ask for a larger deposit as it is capped at 5 weeks’ rent under the Tenant Fees Act 2019.

Date of rent increase after Section 13 referral to First Tier Tribunal: The Bill contains wording that encourages tenants to appeal rent increases at the First Tier Tribunal (FTT). This delays the start of any rent increase until after the tribunal decision, even if it is a reasonable increase.

There are genuine concerns that this is going to lead to an increase in the number of rent increase appeals, and lead to backlogs at the FTT.

The government amendment does not change the Bill, but it gives the Secretary of State in the future the power to change the effective date of the rent increase by regulation, and not an act of parliament, so that it can come into force on the original date in the section 13 notice.

Student accommodation: These amendments involve further changes to the student exemption for larger student operators (the PBSA exemption). This was already altered somewhat in the committee stage and has now been widened further.

The government is now saying any property which has someone who is appointed to act on the landlord’s behalf or who is managing the property for the landlord falls outside the Housing Act 1988 (and hence the RRB) if it is let to students who are in a specified educational establishment and the person acting or managing is a member of a code of practice approved under s233, Housing Act 2004.

The codes currently approved are the codes operated by ANUK/Unipol and UUK for larger student developments. That means developments over 15 rooms. This is partly a tidying up measure as a lot of large student accommodation providers will be organised into multiple companies who will have different positions as regards ownership and operation. 

Increased rights of entry for councils to enter suspected residential tenancies:  The amendment gives councils the power to enter suspected residential tenancies without providing prior notice to the owner if they supect a breach of the Database rules, harassment of occupier or unlawful eviction. This is likely to help councils investigate “sham licences” or attempted illegal evictions.