The New Renters’ Rights Bill: What does it mean and how will it affect me?

26th February 2025

The Renters’ Rights Bill has been all over the news lately and you may be curious about what it is and whether it’ll affect you. Well, if you’re a landlord or a tenant, it probably will impact you in some way. To help you decipher what it means and what changes you might need to make, we’ve developed this helpful guide to break it down.

What is the Renters’ Rights Bill?

The Renters’ Rights Bill is an upcoming legislation, introduced by the Government, to make changes to the Private Rented Sector (PRS). Its main objective is to give tenants more security to stay in their homes and more freedom to leave inadequate properties. It’s a development on the previous Renters’ Rights Reform proposed by the Conservatives.

What’s included in the Renters’ Rights Bill?

The Bill will abolish and introduce a number of new legislations to protect tenants and to improve rented accommodation. The bill will include:

• The abolition of fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies – all tenancies will become periodic.
• The abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions – Section 21 evictions will be eradicated under this new law, so landlords will no longer be able to serve ‘no-fault’ evictions to regain possession of their properties.
• Expanding the Section 8 possession grounds – because of the removal of ‘no-fault’ evictions, the Government is updating the mandatory and discretionary grounds that allow landlords to remove tenants from their property.
• Limit rent increases – the move to periodic tenancies means that landlords will only be able to raise rent once per year, according to the Section 13 notice.
• Offering over the advertising price – under the new legislation, landlords will no longer be allowed to accept offers above the advertising price.
• Advance rental payments will be prohibited – landlords will no longer be able to demand or accept rent payments up front prior to the start of a tenancy. There are ways around advance payment, but more on this later.
• The introduction of a landlord ombudsman – this will be a new service to help impartially resolve disputes between landlords and tenants. It will be compulsory for landlords to sign up and will be funded by landlords themselves.
• The creation of a PRS database – this will also be a paid, mandatory service that landlords will need to be part of. It’s designed to provide landlords with relevant information, but also for tenants to view information about landlords.
• An updated Decent Homes Standard – all rented properties must meet minimum quality standards; we’ll dive into this further down.
• Prohibit discrimination – landlords will not be able to refuse tenants on benefits or with children.
• Renting with pets – landlords will not be able to unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home. However, landlords can require tenants to take up insurance to cover any damage caused by a pet.

How will the Renters’ Rights Bill affect landlords?

The new legislation means that landlords will no longer be able to use fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies and will instead move to periodic ones. These tenancies will run month to month until the tenant serves notice, or the landlord uses Section 8 to gain possession of their property, as no-fault evictions will be prohibited. You can visit the government website to view all of the mandatory and discretionary grounds for possession.

The Government have said it is likely that periodic tenancies will be implemented on the same day for new and existing tenancies, but we expect there will be an adjustment period before it’s enforced to allow landlords to prepare for the new rules.

Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, if you wish to sell or move into your property you can do so under Grounds 1 and 1A of Section 8. However, you will not be able to serve the notice within the first 12 months of a tenancy and you must give a minimum of four months’ notice to your tenant. However, it’s important to note that if you don’t move in or sell the property, you are not permitted relet it for 12 months following the expiry of the notice. For example, if you give notice in October 2025, the notice will expire in February 2026 and so you will not be able to relet the property until the following February in 2027.  

When it comes to rent increases, landlords will be able to do this once per year and will only be able to increase rent to market value. This is proposed to put an end to ‘back door’ evictions. The landlord will have to give two months’ notice for the rent increase, and tenants will be allowed to dispute this by applying to the First-Tier Tribunal, but they must do so before the start date of the proposed new rent.

Advance payments prior to the start of the tenancy will not be permitted under the new Bill. This also means that landlords cannot take the first month’s payment until the tenancy has been agreed. For example, if the agreement states that the start date of the tenancy will be the 1^st November 2025, landlords can only accept payment on that date, and not before. It also means landlords cannot withhold keys if the tenant hasn’t paid the first month’s rent prior to the handover of keys, but you will still be able to charge a holding deposit and security deposit as usual. There are some exceptions to this advance payment rule; after the first month’s rent has been paid, the tenant can choose to pay the next few months in advance, but it must be for the tenant to decide and not the landlord.

The Government will introduce a Landlord Ombudsman that all private landlords with assured or regulated tenancies will be required by law to join. This also includes landlords who use a managing agent. There will be a small fee involved in this which will be mandatory, however this has yet to be determined by the Government. This ombudsman will offer fair and impartial resolutions for tenants but will also benefit the landlord by providing a quick and effective way of resolving tenant-initiated complaints. Failure to comply with the ombudsman can result in fines and expulsion from the scheme, meaning you will no longer be able to privately rent.

There will also be a Private Rented Sector Database where landlords will be legally required to register themselves and their properties. This database will provide information to landlords to help them understand their obligations and compliances. Again, landlords will be required to pay to register on the database which is also yet to be determined.

The new Bill will apply a new Decent Homes Standard to all privately rented homes; this includes extending Awaab’s Law to the Private Rent Sector to ensure all homes are safe and secure within a legal timeframe, including addressing hazardous damp and mould. In addition, all let properties will have to be awarded an EPC rating of C or higher. Whilst this won’t be implemented straight away, it’s proposed that the Government will require all privately rented homes to have this rating by 2030.

How will the Renters’ Rights Bill affect tenants?

The new Renters’ Rights Bill will provide tenants with more security. Tenants will benefit from a 12-month protected period at the start of their tenancy in which the landlord will not be able to evict them. After this 12-month period, landlords must provide four months’ notice if they wish to regain possession of the property if they wish to move into or sell the property, allowing the tenant more time to find a new home. 

Additionally, fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies will become a thing of the past, with tenants no longer having to wait out long tenancy agreements if they wish to move. A tenant will be able to end a tenancy by giving two months’ notice and the end date will have to align with the end of a rent period.

Tenants will no longer have to fear large rent increases. Landlords will only be able to uplift rent once a year and it must be in line with market rates and comparable evidence. They will also have to provide two months’ notice for tenants and will only have to pay the increase rate after the expiry of the notice period. If the tenant feels this increase is unfair, they can challenge it via the First-Tier Tribunal during this two-month period.

The Landlord Ombudsman that is proposed will provide tenants with an independent and impartial service to investigate complaints, allowing them to take action against landlords if they feel they have acted poorly or unfairly.

Tenants will also experience more protection if they temporarily fall into arrears by increasing the threshold for evictions from two months to three months.

Also, under the new legislation, landlords will not be able to unreasonably withhold consent when a tenant requests to have a pet in their home. However, if a landlord does agree, they may also require that the tenant takes up insurance to cover the property from potential damage caused by the pet.

The Government will also be introducing a Decent Homes Standard (DHA) to ensure tenants are able to live in a home that is decent and safe, and to provide tenants with more power to challenge landlords who do not provide this. Awaab’s Law was introduced to social housing in 2023, but will also be extended to privately rented homes to protect all tenants from dangerous and hazardous conditions such as damp and mould.

When will the Renters’ Rights Bill become law?

The 3^rd reading of the Bill happened in mid-January, which marked the end of the House of Commons stage. The Bill is still in the reading process within the House of Lords, so there’s still potential for changes to be made.

It’s expected that the Renters’ Rights Bill will pass in mid-April, but as with any law, there’s sometimes a gap in between a law passing and the law commencing, so it’s likely we’ll see these changes after the summer. It’s also possible that some of the more important items are pushed through sooner, like the abolition of ‘no-fault’ evictions, whereas others may have a staggered approach.

How can I prepare for the New Renters’ Rights Bill?

The best way to prepare for the new Renters’ Rights Bill at the moment is to stay informed. We will continue to share key updates, but you can also visit the Government website for further information.

Reviewing tenancy agreements is key. If you are a landlord, you’ll need to make sure your agreements are aligned with the updated legislations to avoid hefty fines and potential Rent Repayment Orders (RPO) if a tenant believes their landlord has committed an offence.

Ensuring your property is compliant is also important; start taking steps to meet the Decent Homes Standards and addressing damp or mould.

Get in touch with us. If we currently manage your property, then things like changes to tenancy agreements will be made by us, giving you peace of mind when it comes to ensuring compliant contracts. If you don’t let with us, why not give us a call, send an email or pop into branch to talk about your options.

Get in touch with our friendly and helpful lettings team on 01548 855599 or send an email to mplettings@marchandpetit.co.uk. If you’d rather discuss your options face-to-face, pop into our Kingsbridge branch.