No fault evictions to be banned in ‘New Deal’ for renters  

No fault evictions are to be banned in a ‘new deal’ for renters. The move comes as part of government plans to “end the injustice of unfit homes and help protect renters from the rising cost of living”.

Natalie Tatton, Solicitor in our dispute team provides an update.

The Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper  is designed to ensure millions of families benefit from living in decent homes. It forms part of the biggest shake up of the private rented sector in 30 years. The White Paper says most tenants enjoy safe and secure rentals, but for the 21% of private renter households who currently live in unfit homes, this ‘New Deal’ will extend the Decent Homes Standard to the private sector. This means homes must be free from serious health and safety hazards. Private landlords must also keep homes in a good state of repair, so renters have clean, appropriate and useable facilities.

What’s changing in the law? 

These are some of the key points from the White Paper:  

• Outlawing blanket bans on renting to families with children or those in receipt of benefits 
• Ending the use of arbitrary rent review clauses
• Restricting tribunals from hiking up rent
• Enabling tenants to take their landlord to court to seek repayment of rent if their homes are of unacceptable standard  
• Making it easier for tenants to have pets in their homes by giving all tenants the right to request a pet in their house, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse  
• A tenancy will only end if a tenant ends it or a landlord has a valid reason, defined in law 
• Doubling notice periods for rent increases and giving tenants stronger powers to challenge them if they are unjustified  
• Giving councils stronger powers to tackle the worst offenders, backed by enforcement pilots, and increasing fines for serious offences. 

Improvements for landlords

The government also emphasises that landlords will benefit from the proposed changes. The introduction of a new Private Renters’ Ombudsman will enable swift and cost-effective resolution of disputes between landlords and tenants, without the need for court involvement. Additionally, responsible landlords will find it easier to regain possession of their properties from anti-social tenants.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove, highlighting the significance of these reforms, stated, “While most private rented homes offer safe and comfortable accommodation, over half a million properties – or 12% of households – present immediate health and safety risks to tenants. This means approximately 1.6 million people are living in dangerously low-quality homes, driving up costs for our health service.”

For more information about this article or any aspect of landlord and tenant, please contact Natalie.