You may have seen my previous blogs regarding the Renters Reform Bill. This has gained a lot of attention by the media, with the main focus of this being that Section 21 notices will be abolished; however, the bill contains a lot more.

I thought I would take a minute to briefly touch on a couple of points in a bid to try and put your mind at rest that this is not all doom and gloom.

Whilst the Section 21 will be abolished, further grounds will be introduced to Schedule 2 of the Housing Act to enable landlords to secure possession, this will include possession to sell and possession to move back into the property. Rather than there being one notice that fits all, separate notices will be introduced.

The keeping of pets understandably has caused some concern. It is worth noting that permission can be denied with due course. No longer can we just say no, but no with an explanation. This could be that you are allergic to pet hair and will be moving back into the property at some time in the foreseeable future etc. Another point to note is that the government will be amending the Tenant Fee Ban Regulations to allow for pet insurance to be a permissible charge, therefore a landlord could grant permission for a pet based on the tenant taking out and retaining pet insurance that protects the landlord for any damage caused. There is a suggestion that the landlord could take out a pet insurance direct, recharge tenant for this along with any excess should a claim be required.

The notice periods for said notices will double, however some notices for possession will have their notice periods halved.

Below are a few of the bullet points that are included in the bill.

• Section 21 abolished
• Responsible landlords given the right to recover their properties more easily from anti-social tenants,
• The introduction of a new digital Property Portal,
• A new Ombudsman to provide quicker and cheaper resolutions than the courts,.
• New legal rights introduced for tenants who want to keep pets.

Over the course of the coming weeks the bill will go through various stages within Parliament and the House of Lords, and during which more information should be forthcoming from the Government as to the full extent of the bill. Once received I will be sure to issue further blogs.

For now, we continue as we are, we are some time off before the bill is prescribed in law, however if you have any queries then by all means do not hesitate to get in touch.

Paul Buck MARLA, MNAEA

Director of Sales & Lettings

[email protected]

01206 771214