The Renters Rights Bill has it's second reading today in the House of Lords. The industry was recently criticised by the Lords and MP's for not lobbying hard enough regarding the proposed changes, so now is our time to make our voices heard. Below is a letter template that you can use along with details of how to contact the Lords. I would encourage you to use the template and email the same to the Lords to make your voice heard. As an industry we have a very small window in which to make a significant impact but we must take action now.

Renters’ Rights Bill

Contact a member of the House of Lords – letter and email template

Lords are most likely to respond to a personalised letter or email, especially one written by a passionate individual or someone working in a local business who sets out why an issue is so important to them.

To support you, here’s a template example you could use to help you write to a member of the House of Lords and or the Housing Minister in the Lords.

NOTE: Don’t forget to fill in or delete the sections in yellow if no additional information is to be added.

[YOUR FULL ADDRESS]

[YOUR POSTCODE]

[DATE]

Dear [NAME OF MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS],

My name is [YOUR NAME] and I am a local landlord.

I am contacting you because I am concerned about the Renters’ Rights Bill. The legislation will ban Section 21 evictions and introduce a new tenancy regime and new requirements for property standards and rent increases.

The legislation has also been recently amended in the House of Commons to ban the taking of rent in advance.

We recognise that the UK Government intends to protect renters and provide them with greater security. However, there is a real concern from letting agents that overly restrictive regulations will reduce the supply of rental homes, drive up rent prices and make it even more difficult for people to find affordable housing.

To this end, the UK Government enacted the registration of short-term rental property requirements as passed in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 alongside these reforms to level the playing field for landlords and the long-term rental market.

With such significant changes to the current tenancy regime, there must be a commitment to ensure the court system and grounds for possession are robust and fit for purpose.

Furthermore, without an enhanced, effective and well-resourced enforcement regime from local authorities, it is unlikely that any benefits from the reforms will be realised. The UK Government must assess the resources councils need to regulate the private rented sector effectively, with new burdens funding then allocated accordingly.

I am asking you to take the following steps in the House of Lords to address my concerns:

• Court reform is needed before Section 21 is abolished. The UK Government must outline how it intends to manage increased demand on the courts and what additional resourcing it will implement to deal with existing backlogs.

• Restrictions on taking rent in advance will reduce access to private rented property. Not all tenants pass referencing and affordability checks and landlords ask for rent in advance to eliminate the risk of the tenant missing monthly payments. Furthermore, many local councils operate a “Call B4 You Serve” service to prevent eviction and keep tenants off social housing waiting lists. In the east of England alone, 16 councils pay landlords rent in advance on behalf of tenants.
• Extend Ground 4A to one- and two-bedroom houses and flats for students. Under Ground 4A, student Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO) will receive a special dispensation, allowing landlords to reclaim properties to prepare for the next cohort of students. However, this crucial protection does not extend to one- and two-bedroom properties, which are in most circumstances not registered HMOs.
• Removal of fixed-term tenancies. We are concerned that removing fixed-term tenancies as an option will provide less security for tenants and reduce flexibility in the private rented sector. A fixed term allows security of tenure for the tenant and a guarantee of rent payments for the landlord. They are requested by tenants including many nurses and doctors working in hospitals for set periods, plus, those from overseas and families who want to stay in an area because their children are at a school.
• Impact on welfare-dependent tenants. The Bill increases the rent arrears a tenant can build before landlords can seek to repossess a property. How far has the UK Government measured the impact on tenants getting benefits what impact will the decision to freeze housing benefit rates from April have on the ability of claimants to access the sector, especially given the Bill’s objective to tackle discrimination faced by benefit claimants?
• Implementation date. We welcome the UK Government’s commitment that implementation of the Bill will not be fixed to two months after Royal Assent. However, without a clear roadmap of when the changes will be implemented, there is still huge uncertainty for letting agents, landlords, and tenants.

Without these changes, the Bill in its current form is highly likely to reduce the availability of homes for tenants and increase their costs, with more landlords withdrawing homes from the private rented sector, frequently moving them to short-term lets.

I would be very grateful if you would raise these issues in Parliament at the Second Reading debate on Tuesday 4 February 2025 and make representation to Baroness Taylor, Lords Minister for Housing and Local Government.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

[YOUR NAME]

Renters’ Rights Bill – write a letter to a Lord

January 2025

Letters and emails can make a difference. Make sure you contact Lords, Ladies and Bishops and tell them what we need them to say at the Second Reading debate in the House of Lords on 4 February 2025 to ensure overly restrictive regulations do not reduce the supply of rental homes and make it even more difficult for people to find affordable housing.

NB: Lords without email addresses can be reached through [email protected] Or you can print out your letter and post it to your chosen peer at the House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW.