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Let’s begin by getting the name right. The Renters Reform Bill did not complete its passage through parliament before the general election and therefore it no longer exists. The Labour government immediately introduced its version and called it the Renters Rights Bill which is on its way and will have the second reading in the commons on 9th October.
There is so much speculation, misinformation, confusion, questions ….
On 26th September the Government published a Guide to the bill and everyone should read it rather than speculate because this Bill will get through, although there may be some subtle changes as it passes through parliament and there are some major changes which all landlords need to understand. The Guide is here:
Guide to the Renters’ Rights Bill – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
I am going to cover just one part of the Bill in this article
I will begin by sharing my opinion, which is probably not shared by many landlords.
There are many issues that we are dealing with under the current legislation that does not work for landlords. We don’t realise this until we are dealing with problems and find ourselves in deep water with no lifebelt. Some of those issues are going to disappear when this Bill becomes law.
In my opinion, one of the biggest problems which landlords face, and which impacts neighbourhoods, is serious anti-social behaviour. We are held responsible because these adults live in our properties but our hands are tied when we try to remove them or make them behave.
The second issue is non-payment of rent (if this is your first issue you have never dealt with serious anti-social behaviour). At the moment tenants can simply stop paying rent knowing that it will take the landlord up to a year to remove them from the property and because they have no assets recovery of the arrears is impossible.
Anti-social behaviour covers anything from property damage to violence, from smoking various substances to over-indulging in alcohol or just plain lack of anger management. It will come as no surprise to most landlords that homeowners dread a property being offered to let, often because there is a history of ASB or because they have heard from others. We cannot just take the rent and expect the neighbours to accept ASB.
I have let HMO since the early 70s and I have seen a big change in the behaviour of some people who live in a shared home but have no concept about what sharing means nor do they care about the mental health of their housemates and the management of HMO has become a whole new ball game for landlords. We need legislation to help us so that we can take action to stop these tenants behaving in this way. We also need a method of “warning” other landlords not to take them.
How will this bill help us?
NB. We will only have section 8 available to us once the Bill is passed Section 21 will disappear that day.
We are being given some new grounds for eviction under section 8 and Ground 7 Severe ASB/Criminal Behaviour can be used immediately – there is no delay and we can begin legal proceedings if the criteria are met,
“The tenant has been convicted of a type of offence listed in the ground, has breached a relevant order put in place to prevent anti-social behaviour or there is a closure order in place prohibiting access for a continuous period of more than 48 hours.”
Once a tenant is evicted via this ground we have every right to tell the next landlord or agent who asks for a reference that this has happened. If landlords do not take references from previous landlords or agents we have only ourselves to blame when these tenants go from one of us to the next. One thing for sure is that the local authority will have no obligation to house them.
We need to involve the police and advise our tenants to do so, as soon as a tenant meets the criteria which will be listed in the grounds. Also, report them to the local authority so that they too have a record of the person concerned. At the moment they can and do get away with it and we must begin to use the law to protect ourselves and neighbourhoods and send a clear message to these people.
Non-Payment of Rent
So many landlords have helped build a culture of non-payment of rent. I read posts in my Facebook group all the time, “My tenant hasn’t paid rent for over a year” or “My tenant keeps on telling me he will pay but now owes me 6 months rent” or “I feel guilty chasing my tenant I know that they are on benefits“.
Then when they cannot accept the amount of arrears any longer they use Section 21 to evict the tenant. Section 21 is a “no fault” eviction and therefore local authorities are usually under a legal obligation to prevent them being homeless even if they only have emergency accommodation to offer. This is one of the reasons that local authorities buy some time at our expense by telling the tenant to wait for the bailiff to evict them.
Worse some tenants ask the landlord to serve a section 21 so that they can “get council housing ”. I am warning landlords regularly that this is colluding in fraud, which is a criminal offence, and the council could take action against them. The tenant is attempting to jump the very long queues and force the local authority to prevent their homelessness.
This is well known to tenants who are advised on social media and in their community that this is the best way to get social housing.
If landlords use the law as it is written at the moment under Section 8 the day the second rent payment is missed a section 8 notice can be served with only 2 weeks before an application can be made for a hearing. This is a mandatory ground and if 2 months’ rent arrears can be proven the judge must grant possession. This releases the local council from their homelessness prevention duty because it is “intentional homelessness” and can also be shared when a reference is requested. Additionally, the rent arrears and court costs can be claimed at the same hearing resulting in a CCJ on their record if they do not pay – further warning not to offer them a rental.
NB. I am pleased that section 21 is going to disappear the day the Renters Rights Bill receives Royal assent and only those notices which are in process will go forward.
Many landlords who have had the misfortune to try to do the right thing and use the appropriate grounds under section 8 to evict delinquent tenants have found themselves waiting up to 6 months from application to hearing and when granted possession several more months waiting for the bailiffs to enforce the court order.
Even those using section 21, which is meant to be a guaranteed possession if the notice is valid, have found themselves facing a defence which should not be allowed under the legislation but arguing with the judge doesn’t work and, at best, will get you a second hearing a couple of months later.
In my opinion, because the cut-off date will be so sudden, the courts will have a breathing space before they have to hear cases under the new Section 8 system this will clear the backlog and new cases will go through the system much quicker once a hearing has been applied for. We just need to learn how the new system works and use it correctly and promptly to avoid allowing tenants to build up arrears which they will never be able to repay even when they want to.
Section 8 under the Renters Rights Bill
Grounds for possession
| Ground | Summary | Notice period | |
| Mandatory grounds | |||
| 1 | Occupation by landlord or family | The landlord or their close family member wishes to move into the property. Cannot be used for the first 12 months of a new tenancy. | 4 months |
| 1A | Sale of dwelling-house | The landlord wishes to sell the property. Cannot be used for the first 12 months of a new tenancy. | 4 months |
| 1B | Sale of dwelling-house under rent-to-buy | The landlord is a private registered provider of social housing and the tenancy is under a rent-to-buy agreement. | 4 months |
| 2 | Sale by mortgagee | The property is subject to a mortgage and the lender exercises a power of sale requiring vacant possession. | 4 months |
| 2ZA | Possession when superior lease ends | The landlord’s lease is under a superior tenancy that is ending. Can only be used by private registered providers of social housing, agricultural landlords, a person who held the dwelling to make it supported accommodation or a company majority owned by a local authority. | 4 months |
| 2ZB | Possession when superior lease ends | The landlord’s lease is under a superior tenancy that is coming to an end or has ended. Can only be used if the superior lease was for a fixed term of over 21 years. | 4 months |
| 2ZC | Possession by the superior landlord | After a superior tenancy ends, the superior landlord becomes the tenant’s direct landlord and seeks to take possession. Can only be used where the intermediate landlord before reversion was a private registered provider of social housing, an agricultural landlord, a person who held the dwelling to make it supported accommodation or a company majority owned by a local authority. | 4 months |
| 2ZD | Possession by the superior landlord | After a superior tenancy ends, the superior landlord becomes the tenant’s direct landlord and seeks to take possession. Can only be used where the superior lease was for a fixed period of over 21 years and has expired, or within 12 months of the fixed term expiry date if the fixed term has been ended early. Or if the superior tenancy comes to an end after the expiry of the fixed term as a result of a valid notice. | 4 months |
| 4 | Student accommodation | In the 12 months before the start of the tenancy, the property was let to students. Can only be used by specified educational establishments. | 2 weeks |
| 4A | Properties rented to students for occupation by new students | A property is let to full-time students and is required for a new group of students in line with the academic year. | 4 months |
| 5 | Ministers of religion | The property is held for use by a minister of religion to perform the duties of their office and is required for occupation by a minister of religion. | 2 months |
| 5A | Occupation by an agricultural worker | The landlord requires possession to house someone who will be employed by them as an agricultural worker. | 2 months |
| 5B | Occupation by a person who meets employment requirements | A private registered provider of social housing holds the property for use by tenants meeting requirements connected with their employment and it is required for that purpose (and the current tenant does not fulfil those requirements). | 2 months |
| 5C | End of employment by the landlord | Previously ground 16 (expanded). The dwelling was let as a result of the tenant’s employment by the landlord and the employment has come to an end OR the tenancy was not meant to last the duration of the employment and the dwelling is required by a new employee. | 2 months |
| 5D | End of employment requirements | A private registered provider of social housing included an employment requirement in the tenancy agreement that the tenant no longer fulfils (e.g., key worker). | 2 months |
| 5E | Occupation as supported accommodation | The property is held for use as supported accommodation and the current tenant did not enter the tenancy to receive care, support or supervision. | 4 weeks |
| 5F | Dwelling-house occupied as supported accommodation | The tenancy is for supported accommodation and one of the circumstances set out in the ground, making the accommodation no longer viable or suitable for that tenant, has occurred. | 4 weeks |
| 5G | Tenancy granted for homelessness duty | The property has been used as temporary accommodation for a homeless household, under s193 of the Housing Act 1996, and a local housing authority has notified the landlord that the tenancy is no longer required for that purpose. The landlord can only use this ground within 12 months of the date of the notice from the local housing authority. | 4 weeks |
| 5H | Occupation as ‘stepping stone accommodation’ | A registered provider of social housing or a charity lets to a tenant meeting eligibility criteria (e.g., under a certain age) at “affordable rent”, to help them access the private rented sector and/or transition to living independently, and the tenant no longer meets the eligibility criteria, or a limited period has come to an end. | 2 months |
| 6 | Redevelopment | The landlord wishes to demolish or substantially redevelop the property which cannot be done with the tenant in situ. Various time limits and/or notice requirements exist for this ground depending on the circumstances. The landlord and tenancy must be of the kind listed in the table. | 4 months |
| 6A | Compliance with enforcement action | The landlord is subject to enforcement action and needs to regain possession to become compliant. | 4 months |
| 7 | Death of tenant | The tenancy was passed on by will or intestacy. Possession proceedings must begin no later than 12 months after death or, if the court directs, after the date on which the landlord became aware of the death. | 2 months |
| 7A | Severe ASB/Criminal Behaviour | The tenant has been convicted of a type of offence listed in the ground, has breached a relevant order put in place to prevent anti-social behaviour or there is a closure order in place prohibiting access for a continuous period of more than 48 hours. | Landlords can begin proceedings immediately |
| 7B | No right to rent | At least one of the tenants has no right to rent under immigration law as a result of their immigration status and the Secretary of State has given notice to the landlord of this. | 2 weeks |
| 8 | Rent arrears | The tenant has at least 3 months’ (or 13 weeks’ if rent is paid weekly or fortnightly) rent arrears both at the time notice is served and at the time of the possession hearing. | 4 weeks |
| Discretionary grounds | |||
| 9 | Suitable alternative accommodation | Suitable alternative accommodation is available for the tenant | 2 months |
| 10 | Any rent arrears | The tenant is in any amount of arrears | 4 weeks |
| 11 | Persistent arrears | The tenant has persistently delayed paying their rent, | 4 weeks |
| 12 | Breach of tenancy | The tenant is guilty of breaching one of the terms of their tenancy agreement (other than paying rent). | 2 weeks |
| 13 | Deterioration of property | The tenant has caused the condition of the property to deteriorate. | 2 weeks |
| 14 | Anti-social behaviour | 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, a person employed in connection with housing management functions, or anyone living in, visiting or in the locality of the property. Or the tenant or a person living or visiting the property has been convicted of using the premises for illegal/immoral purposes or has been convicted of an indictable offence in the locality. | Landlords can begin proceedings immediately |
| 14A | Domestic Abuse | A social landlord wishes to evict the perpetrator of domestic violence if the partner has fled and is unlikely to return. | 2 weeks |
| 14ZA | Rioting | The tenant or another adult living at the property has been convicted of an indictable offence which took place at a riot in the UK. | 2 weeks |
| 15 | Deterioration of furniture | The tenant has caused the condition of the furniture to deteriorate. | 2 weeks |
| 17 | False statement | The tenancy was granted due to a false statement made knowingly or recklessly by the tenant or someone acting on their instigation. | 2 weeks |
| 18 | Supported accommodation | The tenancy is for supported accommodation and the tenant is refusing to engage with the support. | 4 weeks |
Guide to the Renters’ Rights Bill – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
My takeaway from the new Bill is that if landlords learn and use the law as it is written WE can change the private rented sector for the better. I am not going to say that all of this Bill is good for landlords and I will discuss other parts of the Bill in future articles but we need to send a clear message to all tenants
BEHAVE OR BE HOMELESS
