The policy process moves speedily along for the labour government, as some of it’s ‘headline’ bills reach fruition. At Resolve, we have identified a select few bills we believe that are worthy of scrutiny and influence on behalf of members, one of those is certainly, the Renters’ Rights Bill.
The bill’s passage through the House of Lords has been swift, and it now stands at a now confirmed committee stage, which will begin in the House on the 22nd of April which follows the Easter recess. The committee will then again sit two days later on the 24th of April.
Once it heads towards the committee stage, rather than being sent to a bill committee, like it is in the House of Commons, the bill is usually debated on the floor of the House itself, where all members can take part. Amendments are rarely voted for at this stage, this normally takes place at the report stage.
Once passing through the Committee stage, the bill will make its way into a third reading, where a bill can be amended if, the amendments focus on something that has not been voted on previously at any of the other stages.
Of course, nothing can ever be certain, however it is predicted by many that the Bill is expected to become law in the summer.
Why are we interested in the Renters’ Rights Bill?
The Renters’ Rights Bill looks to be the biggest change to the housing sector since the 1988 Housing Act, and with big changes, often come anxiety. We hear from members routinely about how the Renters’ Rights Bill looks to affect their service. With it’s aim in reforming the private rented sector, the Bill seeks to deliver changes that aim to make the private rented sector (PRS) more equitable as a result of major unrest surrounding rent increases and poor conditions.
We, however, represent a large amount of social housing providers, who are often left felt voiceless in the policy process as much of the attention and focus is placed on unscrupulous private landlords and aggrieved tenants. The social housing sector is facing more and more demand, with fewer resources. Possession for homes is often an unfortunate necessity in the case of anti-social behaviour, despite conducting all relevant avenues in order to deter anti-social behaviour, if not acted upon swiftly, it can blight a neighbourhood and cause misery for a neighbourhood. Section 21 no-fault evictions are often therefore used by some social housing providers in order to swiftly reclaim stock.
Failing Section 21, there are a few mandatory grounds for possession open to housing providers to use under Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, during the term of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST).
These mandatory grounds for possession are:
- Ground 1 – The owner requires the property back for self, spouse or civil partner
- Ground 2 – Repossession by the landlord’s mortgage lender
- Ground 3 – Fixed-term holiday let
- Ground 4 – Fixed-term student accommodation
- Ground 5 – Property required for priest or other minister of religion
- Ground 6 – Property required for demolition, redevelopment or substantial work
- Ground 7 – Death of the original tenant
- Ground 7A – Antisocial behaviour by tenants or their family and visitors
- Ground 7B – No right to rent
- Ground 8 – Tenant owes serious rent arrears
Of course, for cases involving anti-social behaviour, Ground 7A is often used, using the definition from the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Naturally, the court will consider a grant for an order for possession if the landlord can provide evidence of the ant-social behaviour, the landlord needs to give four weeks’ notice for a periodic tenancy, and one month’s notice during a fixed term.
Ground 12 is also often used, being the ground that can be used when: Any obligation of the tenancy (other than one related to the payment of rent) has been broken or not performed.
Ground 14 is also sometimes used in these situations, covering nuisance, annoyance and illegal or immoral use of the property. The notice period for this ground is none, as proceedings can begin immediately.
However, as we are all unfortunately aware, there are severe and chronic court backlogs, official data from the government shows that by the end of September 2021, there were 73,105 outstanding cases.[1] These chronic backlogs cause ripple effects for all who use aspects of the tools and powers and deeply effect the effectiveness of possession grounds. This means that any legislation that deals with the courts in this manner has seemingly less teeth and is more delayed in its application.
In written evidenced submitted by the Law Society to The Renters’ Rights Public Bill Committee, they have referenced the significant pressure that courts and tribunals are under. They remarked that the legislation may ‘lead to more contested hearings, at least in the short term, as landlords will be required to prove fault or show good reason when evicting tenants. They further add that they have ‘concerns as to how courts would be able to cope with such demand’. It is therefore a concern that the upcoming reforms, without immediate investment or reform to the court system, will only worsen the situation.
As the Renters’ Rights Bill continues to make headway, we will of course monitor and track any developments on behalf of our members.
If you have any questions or queries in regard to the Renters’ Rights Bill, do not hesitate to contact:
Harrison Box, Policy Officer
[1] https://victimscommissioner.org.uk/news/justice-delayed-human-toll-of-gruelling-crown-court-delays-on-victims-revealed-in-new-victims-commissioner-report/#:~:text=Official%20government%20data%20shows%20that,led%20by%20Sir%20Brian%20Leveson.
