Home Truths: What the Renters' Rights Bill Really Means for Tenants and Landlords

The private rental market has been at the forefront of debate for a number of years. The most recent form of this debate has come through the Renters’ Rights Bill (‘the Bill’). It has the potential to fundamentally change the landscape of the rental market, and reset the power imbalance between landlords and their tenants.

In this article, I wanted to provide an overview of the most important components of the Bill based on the most recent debates in Parliament (the version of the Bill from the House of Commons can be found here and the proposed amendments by the House of Lords can be found here). At the time of writing, the House of Commons (where the Bill first started) must now consider the proposed amendments from the House of Lords. Will they be agreed, or will the Bill bounce between the Houses? That question is likely to be answered on 8 September 2025, when it is understood that this next stage will take place.

The proposed amendments do not appear to have a significant impact on the key reforms which this article will focus on (this is not an exhaustive list of proposed amendments under the Bill, nor will it cover every single detail due to length, therefore professional legal advice should always be sought for your own case):

• Ending fixed-term assured tenancies and assured shorthold tenancies (‘ASTs’). These will be replaced with periodic assured tenancies;

• Banning "no fault" evictions under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 ('the 1988 Act');

• Changes to the grounds that a landlord can repossess a property (both amendments and expanding on the grounds);

• Tenants will have a right to ask to keep pets in their rented properties;

• A ban on discriminating against prospective tenants who have children or who receive benefits; and

• A ban on rental bidding (this is where a landlord invites offers of rent that are higher than what is advertised.

Ending Fixed Term ASTs

• The Bill, in its current form, will provide that all new assured tenancies will be periodic and can no longer have fixed terms. This would mean any provision providing for a fixed term (6 months, 1 year, etc.) will have no effect.

• The periodic tenancies must be for the same duration as the period for which rent is paid. The rent payment period must be either monthly or a period of less than 28 days. Therefore, if the rent covers one month, the periodic tenancy must be one month. If the tenancy agreement says that it is for a longer period, those provisions will have no effect: the rent will instead be payable monthly on a pro-rata basis.

• What about current ASTs? The provisions requiring tenancies to be periodic from the outset will apply to all new tenancies created on or after the commencement date (when the Bill comes into force). On that same date, all existing assured tenancies will become periodic assured tenancies, although the government may give a different date for social housing tenancies.

• The Bill will also remove Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1988 Act entirely. This contains the provisions which establish ASTs. It will therefore not be possible to create ASTs in the future. Existing assured shorthold tenancies will become assured periodic tenancies on the date specified in the Bill.

Banning “No Fault” Evictions

• As the Bill will remove Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the 1988 Act (as above), this will include the removal of section 21. In practice, this will mean that a landlord will no longer be able to seek to recover possession by simply serving a notice under section 21 on a so-called "no fault" basis.

• As a result, a landlord will in future only be able to recover possession if they serve a section 8 notice relying on one or more of the grounds for possession contained in Schedule 2 of the 1988 Act. They will need to that prove in court at a hearing. Although the statutory grounds for possession may be widened by the Bill, the requirement to provide a reason for seeking possession will make it harder for landlords to recover possession if they cannot rely on one of the statutory grounds.

• What about a section 21 notice which was served just before the Bill became an Act of Parliament? If section 21 possession proceedings have not been started before the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament, the landlord has until the end of the applicable period to commence possession proceedings. This period is six months beginning with the date on which the notice was given or three months from when the Bill becomes law, if this period ends sooner.

• What about a case where the landlord has started court proceedings with a section 21 notice, but they have not finished when the Bill becomes law? Where possession proceedings have already been started but have not been concluded before the the Bill becomes law, or have not been commenced yet but are not time-barred, then the section 21 notice will remain valid, and the tenancy will remain an AST until possession proceedings in reliance on the notice become time-barred or are concluded.

Grounds for Possession

• The Bill amends and widens some of the grounds for possession in schedule 2 of the 1988 Act, and amend some of the notice periods that apply to different grounds for possession. These grounds for possession will have even greater significance due to the proposed abolition of section 21 of the 1988 Act. The Bill does not include a mandatory ground for repeated serious arrears of rent. A select summary of the grounds are below (not all amendments are being discussed in this article).

• There is a mandatory ground where the landlord can repossess property because it will be occupied by the landlord, their spouse/civil partner, person with whom the landlord lives as if they were married or in a civil partnership, or other close family member. it is likely to be extended so that the landlord can rely on it not only where they require the property back to live in as their, their spouse or civil partner's only or principal home, but also where a parent, grandparent, sibling, half-sibling, child, grandchild, or child or grandchild of any of the above wishes to move in. There will not be any need for the landlord, partner or close family member to have previously lived in the property.

  
  

• The landlord can sell the property. Again, this is a mandatory ground. A landlord will be able to rely on this ground where it intends to sell a freehold or leasehold interest in the property, or grant a lease for a term of more than 21 years. In order to rely on this ground, it is proposed that the tenancy must have begun at least one year before the date specified in the section 8 notice.

  
  

• The property can be sold by the mortgage company. Under the revised grounds, the mortgage does not need to have been granted before the beginning of the tenancy.

  
  

• The mandatory ground for unpaid rent will also be amended. The unpaid rent at the time of both serving the section 8 notice and at the date of the possession hearing must be least thirteen weeks' rent arrears (if the rent is payable weekly or fortnightly) or at least three months' rent arrears (if rent is payable monthly).

• There are discretionary grounds in relation to the non-payment of rent or persistent rent arrears. They remain relatively unchanged, save for a longer notice period will be required: four weeks will be needed as opposed to two weeks.

  
  

• A ground for anti-social behaviour where the tenant or anyone living in or visiting the property has been guilty of behaviour causing, or likely to cause, nuisance or annoyance to the landlord or anyone living in, visiting or in the locality of the property, or has been convicted of using the premises for illegal or immoral purposes, or has been convicted of an indictable offence in the locality. The changes to this ground include the fact that the court must consider whether the person against whom the order is sought has co-operated with the landlord's attempts to encourage the conduct to cease.

Pets

• This would be a new right: a tenant could request permission to have a pet. The right is implied into every assured tenancy, with some limited exceptions.

• A tenant may keep a pet at the property if the landlord has consented. The tenant's application must be in writing and contain a description of the pet. The pet does not need to be owned by the tenant, just living at the tenant's property.

  
  

• The landlord’s consent is not to be unreasonably refused. Reasonable refusal includes where consenting to a pet would put the landlord in breach of an agreement with a superior landlord or where superior landlord consent has been sought but not provided.

• The landlord’s response must be given in writing on or before the 28th day after the date of the request subject to slight timing adjustments where the landlord requires further information or a superior landlord's consent is required. The landlord and tenant may also agree to delay the deadline for consent. If the landlord does not reply, then the court may make an order requiring them to do so.

• The landlord may impose a condition requiring insurance for pet damage to the property. The condition could require the tenant to have insurance against damage caused by the pet or it could require the tenant to reimburse the landlord for their reasonable costs of taking out insurance against damage by a pet.

Tenants with Children or Receiving Benefits

• A landlord (or someone acting on their behalf) will not be able to discriminating against prospective tenants who would have a child living with them or visiting them. There is also a prohibition on discriminating against prospective tenants who claim benefits. Both of these bans will apply only to landlords to privately rented properties.

• The extent of this ban is that a prospective landlord must not prevent someone from enquiring about the property, viewing the property or taking a tenancy of the dwelling on the basis that a child might live with or visit the prospective tenant (or that the tenant will be claiming benefits). Blanket policies or practices that would have the effect of deterring a tenant will also be prohibited.

  
  

• A term in a tenancy agreement that prohibits the tenant from having a child live with or visit them will be of no effect. The position is the same with tenants who claim benefits. There are only limited grounds for a landlord to circumvent this ban: the landlord will need to show that their conduct is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim or is required to fulfil the terms of an existing insurance policy.

Banning Rental Bidding

• When advertising a property for rent, the amount of the proposed rent must be specified in the advert. A "to let" sign at the property does not need to state the amount of the proposed rent. The landlord (or person acting on their behalf) must not invite or accept offers of rent that are higher than the rent stated in the advert.

• There may be financial penalties for landlords if they, or someone acting on their behalf, have failed to advertise the proposed rent or has invited or accepted a rent that is higher than the rent stated in the advert.

Analysis

• The abolition of fixed terms gives freedom to tenants, and presents them with much more flexibility on the basis that they are not obliged to remain at the property for a prescribed period of time. This may have the effect of ensuring better standards in properties: tenants will be unlikely to remain at a property in poor condition. It therefore gives an incentive for landlords to ensure their properties are up to standard.

  
  

• The removal of no fault evictions will make repossessing a property more difficult for landlords. This is because a landlord will be required to give reasons for evicting a tenant, and they will be limited to the grounds of possession found in schedule 2 of the 1988 Act. If none of those reasons are engaged (such as rent arrears, breach of the tenancy agreement etc) then a landlord will be unable to issue repossession proceedings.

• If a section 21 notice has already been served, or if court proceedings relying on section 21 have already been started, and assuming that there is no issue with the claim beign time-barred, there will be a short grace period for landlords to have those cases dealt with by the court.

• A common dispute is over a tenant having a pet at the property. Under the Bill, this would allow a tenant the right to request permission to have their pets live with them. A landlord will need to give a good reason to refuse permission. It is currently unclear what will constitute reasonable refusal at the moment, and will depend largely on the facts of each case.

• The prohibition on discrimination on the basis of children and/or benefits should, in theory, enable tenants to make broader enquiries than they currently are able to. It will be interesting to see how this is policed and enforced as there may be evidentiary issues in establishing such a breach.

  
  

• The ban on rental bidding prevents a situation whereby tenants are effectively "priced out" of the market. It is hoped that the financial penalties in place will be a sufficient protection to prevent this issue arising.

• The proposed amendments will be discussed and voted on by the House of Commons on what is believed to be 8 September 2025. It is therefore possible that the Bill may become law this year, unless there are issues which present themselves at the eleventh hour.

Please note that our posts should not be intended to be legal advice and should not be construed as such; they are merely discussions and therefore readers are encouraged to seek professional legal advice for their own matters.