CHANGE IS COMING – WE ALL HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT

Wednesday saw the second reading of the Renters Rights Bill in the House of Commons, and in reality it was a rather one-sided affair, writes Phil Cooper. 

It is clear that this piece of legislation is a political priority for a government which is looking for some quick wins, and the RRB is a broadly popular piece of legislation which doesn’t require an injection of public spending, so it delivers that low-hanging fruit for a new government which is struggling to make its mark.

Therefore, not only is it a racing certainty that the Bill will become law with few amendments, but its passage through Parliament is unlikely to be a drawn-out affair.  The time for debating its rights and wrongs are over; now we must concentrate on what we have to do to make it work for landlords and tenants in reality when it comes into force – something which could well happen as early as the spring.

The abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions has been the attention-grabber, but sensible landlords will be looking beyond the headlines and seeing for themselves what the Bill actually involves.  For example, whilst Section 21 will indeed be abolished, landlords will still be able to get their properties back via a beefed up Section 8 process, should they want to sell the property, live in it themselves, or if their tenants have breached the terms of their agreement.

That said, not all of the changes to Section 8 are in the landlord’s favour.  Evictions for non-payment of rent will only be possible after three months of arrears (currently two months), and then the tenant will be entitled to four weeks’ notice (currently two).  So landlords may want to reconsider their need for Rent Guarantee Insurance, especially if they have a mortgage to pay.

Major legislative changes like the RRB are not uncommon when there is a new government, and it is important not to look back at the debate which has happened, but instead to look forward to how we can make the new situation work.  Despite predictions of the sky falling in, that never really happens; as a country we are actually pretty adept at adapting to change, even if we don’t like it.

The crucial thing is that landlords really understand what the new legislation means for them so that they are prepared for it and don’t get caught out.  That means actually reading the Bill (which is available on the Parliament website), and taking advice from an expert letting agent who can walk you through the actual implications of the legislation.