Rental Reform - time to influence, says Agent Rainmaker

Now is the time to lobby the Government on the detail of the Renters Reform Bill.

That’s the message from the expert Agent Rainmaker panel who met to discuss the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper.

The White Paper outlines the changes to the sector which ministers are proposing are included within the Bill, which could be passed within the next 12 months – although there would then be a period of time before landlords had to comply with the new legislations.

After a surprise announcement that the white paper was being released, Agent Rainmaker founder Sally Lawson and sales director Kate Gregory hosted an online discussion with Neil Cobbold (managing director of PayProp) and Daryl Mcintosh (compliance officer for Propertymark in Scotland).

They discussed the key points in the paper, which includes:

- The scrapping of Section 21 (so-called ‘no fault’ evictions).

- Replacement of Assured Shorthold Tenancies with periodic tenancies – which the tenant could end with two months’ notice, or the landlord could end only if they had grounds for possession.

- The creation of a new Ombudsman who all landlords must be registered with.

- A Property Portal giving access to information for landlords and renters.

- Rent increases limited to once a year, and no more rent review clauses.

- Landlords being unable to refuse to rent to families with children and benefit claimants, and unable to ‘unreasonably refuse’ a request by a tenant to have a pet in the property.

Immediately, concerns were raised that the proposals – if passed – would negatively impact landlords.

But the Agent Rainmaker panel moved to reassure landlords and agents that there was a chance now for the sector to feed back on the white paper and influence the final details which make it into the Renters Reform Bill.

Neil said getting rid of Section 21 shouldn’t be a problem for landlords already operating within legislation and best practice: “A landlord doesn’t want to move a tenant out who’s looking after the property and paying rent.” He added there was normally always a reason why a landlord would want to serve notice – and the new system would simply enable them to name that reason.

Daryl said similar changes which had already come into force in Scotland (such as scrapping their Section 21 equivalent, moving to periodic tenancies, and a new system to settle disputes) had largely improved the system and fears such as tenants moving into a property and moving straight back out had largely not come to fruition.

Sally called on letting agents to be the voice of reason and help reassure landlords, as well as ensuring they were equipped to deal with proposed changes such as looking after tenancies where the renter was receiving benefits. 

And Kate called on agents to ‘have a voice’ and use this time before the Bill went through Parliament to raise concerns, make suggestions, and take part in the consultation process.

The panel agreed most landlords were already complying with Decent Homes Standards – despite the White Paper claiming 21 per cent of privately rented properties were ‘non-decent’.

The paper also stated almost half of all landlords were not using an agent, and only 18 per cent of properties were being managed by an agent. Further stats claimed 11 per cent of landlords were not complying fully with either legislation or good practice.

You can watch the panel discussion here.

* Sally Lawson is the founder of Agent Rainmaker *

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