Renters Rights Bill: What you need to know

The Renters Rights Bill is a set of proposed new laws currently being debated in Parliament, with an aim for these to come into force before the summer of 2025.

This bill aims to improve rights and conditions for people who rent a property in England and Wales, however like any new law there may be problems as landlords do not fully understand their responsibilities at the start, or try and find ways to get around things they do not agree with.

This advice is based on a proposal which could change before the final draft of the legislation. Nothing is certain at this point and anything here may still change, though most of the proposals are likely to make it into the final legislation.

This is our understanding as of January 2025.

What is the Renters Rights Bill aiming to do?

These are some key points of the Renters Rights Bill that most affect properties that students are likely to rent.:

Abolish section 21 evictions

Section 21 Evictions are the procedure by which a Landlord can end any tenancy which is not in a fixed term, by giving two months notice, without there needing to be any fault on the tenant’s part. These do not often affect annual tenancies for students (and some student tenancies can still be ended at the end of the academic year) but for people renting a long term home this provides more security. Landlords can still evict for other reasons such as rent arrears, antisocial behaviour, selling the property, or if they previously lived there and need the property as their home. Landlords can also serve notice to end some student tenancies at the end of the academic year.

Limit the possibility of being stuck in a contract you do not want to be in

All tenancies will now be periodic. This means that if you no longer want to rent a property you will be able to give 2 months notice to leave and this will end your liability for the rent.

Make it less likely to be evicted if you are in rent arrears

Currently if the rent on a property is 2 months in arrears and the landlord goes to court, there is no defence and the Judge must evict you. The notice period for this eviction is 2 weeks.

The Bill will increase the threshold of arrears where the judge must evict you to 3 months of arrears, and the notice period to 4 weeks, giving more time to sort out financial difficulties and pay off any arrears.

Limit Rent In Advance

Landlords will only be able to take up to 1 months rent in advance of the tenancy starting meaning they cannot request large payments in place of a guarantor.

Create a Private Rented Sector Database and a new Ombudsman to manage disputes

Currently there is no requirement for landlords to register with any organisation before letting properties, and there is no Ombudsman for landlords (only letting agents). This will require landlords to register, helping you to ensure your landlord is within the Law, and make it easier to resolve complaints.

Make it easier to request a pet in the property

Landlords must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse a request to have a pet.They can ask you to take out or pay for pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.

Incentives to prevent signing up early

Landlords renting to students can serve notice to end the tenancy at the end of the academic year, but cannot do this if the property was signed for more than 6 months in advance. This should prevent the pressure to sign up very early in the year.

Other changes

There are a number of other changes to improve standards and make it easier to get problems such as disrepair sorted out.

Which tenancies does this apply to?

These changes apply to any property rented from a landlord or letting agent in England which you inhabit exclusively.

These changes do not apply to properties where you live in the same house as your landlord.

They do not apply to Accommodation rented directly from your University.

It is not yet clear how they apply to Purpose Built Student Accommodation or “private halls”. The explanatory notes state that these do not apply to this type of accommodation, but the definition of Purpose Built Student Accommodation tenancies in the notes is different to many tenancies in this type of accommodation.

For houses rented to 3 or more students Landlords can still end the tenancy without the tenants being at fault, but only to keep the tenancy cycle in line with the academic year. In this case Landlords can give 4 months notice to end the tenancy between June and September, to keep the property in the student lettings cycle.

Are there likely to be any problems?

There is some discussion about whether these changes will increase rents, or reduce supply, but we do not know this for certain. Some Landlords are resistant to the changes and may try to get around them or change how they work in a way that is unhelpful to tenants.

Current possible issues could include:

Landlords can currently still ask for a guarantor, and it is possible that if they cannot ask for advance rent instead that they may be more wary of renting to people who cannot provide one.

As with any new Law, sometimes definitions are unclear. For example there is no specific list of when it is unreasonable to refuse a pet.

The definition of “students” is not clear whether it includes students who are on temporary leave, and some landlords may be reluctant to allow students on leave to rent their properties if this changes the rules about ending the tenancies.

It is not clear how the 2 months notice applies to joint tenancies, and whether this ends the tenancy for all the people there if one person gives notice, or if those who remain will be liable for the joint rent.

It is possible that landlords who have signed tenancy agreements more than 6 months before the tenancy start date will try and change these so they can benefit from the ability to end the tenancy.

If you experience any issues with your tenancy due to these changes, or any other reason, please get in touch with Help and Support at advice@luu.leeds.ac.uk or come and see us in the foyer.