Renters (Reform) Bill moves forward towards Royal Assent

The controversial Renters (Reform) Bill will be back in the House of Commons next week.

The Renters (Reform) Bill is getting its next parliamentary reading next week, on Wednesday 24th April. The news was confirmed when Government officials who allocate time for bills within the parliamentary timetable published the date within the official diary.

When it returns to Parliament next week the bill will move to its report stage and have its Third Reading, during which any further amendments can be made. Following this, the Renters (Reform) Bill will go through a similar process in the House of Lords, involving multiple readings and the potential for even more amendments.

The progress of the bill was signed off by the Conservative party’s 1922 Committee last week.

A spokesperson for the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We are absolutely committed to the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will have its remaining stages in the House of Commons next week.

“This Bill will abolish Section 21 evictions and deliver a fairer rented sector for tenants and landlords. We will continue to work across the sector to ensure it passes into law as soon as possible.”

The Conservative Party has committed to passing the Renters (Reform) Bill into law before the date of the next General Election, but the Government will have to move fast in order to get the reform legislation through to Royal Assent, as the summer recess is less than three months away.

Ministers have been under pressure from all sections of the housing sector including agents and housing campaigners to move the legislation forward.

However, there are several sticking points which will make it difficult. The key problem will be persuading a group of nearly 50 Tory MPs who have said they may vote against the legislation in the Commons unless several concessions are included.

These include a delay to the banning of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions until the court system is speeded up and the ending of selective licencing following the introduction of the Property Portal which will require all landlords and their properties to be registered. The MPs also want to see tenants required to stay in a property for at last six months after ASTs are replaced by ‘periodic’ or open-ended tenancies.

If you have any questions or are concerned about how the bill will affect you and your investment portfolio, please don’t hesitate to contact our specialist lettings team on 0161 511 5339 or via our contact form.