Good Landlording

Following the publication of the Renters’ Rights Bill a little under a month ago, and in honour of the Second Reading of the Bill in the House of Commons today, Suzanne Smith and Richard Jackson answer some of the many questions they’ve received from listeners of Good Landlording about different aspects of the Bill.

The episode is full of practical advice, and explains the areas where things aren’t yet clear. On that note, it’s of course course subject to the usual disclaimer that the Bill still isn’t finalised, and some of the wording is ambiguous.

The questions about the Renters’ Rights Bill cover topics as diverse as rent, what happens when Section 21 is abolished, the transition arrangements, the treatment of antisocial behaviour, pets, students, and the possible impact on leaseholders. There is a worked example of the transition arrangements in the show notes below.

>> Ask a question: Click here for question form

Detail on the new rules on rent

Here are the questions from listeners about how the Renters’ Rights Bill changes rent:

• It seems that it is possible to increase a rent to market rent and not to a fixed percentage increase? Isn’t this a good thing for Landlords?


• I’m struggling to find the clauses dealing with “no advance rent payments”.  Is that a thing?  It’s been mentioned quite a bit by various people, but in your recent podcast, Suzanne said it’s not clear. Can she explain more about that?

>> Related episode: #27: What the Renters’ Rights Bill changes about rent

>> Blog post: The new rules about rent in the Renters’ Rights Bill

What happens when Section 21 goes?

Here are the questions from listeners that relate to the abolition of Section 21 in the Renters’ Rights Bill:

• Can a tenant under the new legislation avoid eviction by staying 2 months in rent arrears, so they avoid reaching the three month threshold for eviction?


• Can you expand on how Anti-Social Behaviour is treated in the RRB, please?


• If you want to sell your HMO, (not to family), it mentions tenancies of not less than 12 months which is not possible in an HMO? Okay if you are selling it on as an HMO but if not?


• I entered into a 12 month AST with tenants on 1 August 2024, and I don’t want to renew with them next year. Can I serve a s21 notice now?


• What happens if I serve a s12 notice just before the s21 is abolished?

>> Related episode: #26: What happens when Section 21 is abolished?

>> Blog post: How and when will Labour abolish Section 21 no fault evictions?

What happens to Section 21 notices pending on Commencement Date?

When the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, the general rule is that all Section 21 notices that have been served before the Commencement Date (when the new tenancy system comes into force) will still be valid.

However, there are some rules regarding how long a landlord will have to apply for an order for possession after the the notice expires before it becomes time-barred.

What are the current time limits for Section 21 notices?

The current rules are that the Section 21 notice can’t be served in the first 4 months of a tenancy.

However, if the tenants ignore the notice and don’t move out when it expires, the landlord must apply for an order for possession within 6 months of the date the notice was served.

This rule will be modified for Section 21 notices that expire after the Commencement Date.

General rule for Section 21 notices served before the Commencement Date

All notices that are served before the Commencement Date will still be valid, and the tenancy will remain an assured shorthold tenancy, and the landlord will be able to enforce the notice by bringing an order for possession until they are time-barred.

This means they will need to commence proceedings for an order for possession within 3 months of the Commencement Date, and even earlier if the notice was served more than 2 months before the Commencement Date, otherwise they will be time-barred. There is often a backlog at the courts, so landlords should err on the safe side.

If the Section 21 notice expires more than 3 months after the Commencement Date, the landlord will not be able to obtain an order for possession from the court.

Example timeline assuming Commencement Date is 1 July 2025

This timeline shows the last date to serve a Section 21 notice and apply for an order for possession, based on a Commencement Date for the new tenancy system (including the abolition of Section 21) on 1 July 2025.

It almost certainly won’t be 1 July, and it’s a random date chosen to help illustrate the point.

Transition arrangements – worked example

For our worked example, let’s assume the fixed term runs from 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025.

The landlord has the earlier of 4 months from the expiry of the notice on 31 July 2025 (30 November), and 3 months of the Commencement Date (30 September) to bring an order for possession. As 30 September is the earlier date, a landlord won’t be able to bring an order for possession after that date.

This is all subject to the landlord needing to bring an order for possession within 6 months of the date they serve the notice.

To recap, the landlord must commence proceedings for an order for possession before the earliest of these three dates, to avoid being time-barred:

• 6 months from the date of the notice


• 4 months from the expiry of the two months’ notice


• 3 months from the Commencement Date.

Practically, it means that the landlord mustn’t serve a Section 21 notice too early, otherwise they may be time-barred from enforcing it. However, they need to allow enough time to for the court to issue the paperwork. It is strongly advised that landlords take legal advice on this from specialists solicitors. (Send a message via our contact form if you would like a referral).

Landlords also won’t be able to enforce a Section 21 notice for fixed term tenancies that expire on or after that 3 month window following the Commencement Date. Practically the deadline is even earlier as the landlord would need to allow for enough time to apply for an order for possession before the 3 month window ends.

Pets

Here is the question about pets:

• What happens if the landlord doesn’t respond within the allotted timescale. Surely, if they don’t respond, the tenant should be allowed the pet. The legislation doesn’t deem consent to be given or not given. It just leaves it open, so we are left in limbo land.

Students

Here are two questions that cover letting to students:

• Is the government considering making an exemption and allowing fixed term contracts for private sector student landlords so as to enable them to let in alignment with the academic year?


• What transition arrangements will there be for the 2025 student changeover if the RRB comes into effect just before the summer?

Impact on landlords who are leaseholders

Finally, here is a question about the potential impact the Bill will have on landlords who are leaseholders:

• The new Renter’s Rights Bill will currently make superior landlords (freeholders in the case of leasehold flats) fully responsible for the tenants and any rent repayment orders along with increasing the fines substantially. Why would any of them grant their leaseholders permission to rent out their apartment once this has been introduced? It would seem that there will be a mass exodus or renting by the freeholders.

Credits

Music: “Paradise Found” by Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 License.