The Renters’ Right Bill, which is working its way through Parliament and had its second reading in the House of Lords this week, has been welcomed by the Law Society of England and Wales, but missing components could render it ineffective warns President Richard Atkinson.
“We are pleased that the Renters’ Rights Bill proposes widely supported reform, including the immediate ban of ‘no-fault’ evictions and an end to rental bidding wars. This reform is long overdue, as the growing housing crisis has left renters vulnerable to unjust treatment and forced homelessness. It is vital that renters are afforded clear rights, while balancing landlords’ routes to repossessions.”
said Atkinson, adding
“We support the Bill’s ambitious efforts, however, we remain concerned that an underfunded justice system will make rental reform difficult to achieve. While the government’s proposals to increase housing legal aid fees are a welcome development, there remains more to be done around the scope of legal aid, which would enable more renters to obtain legal advice at an earlier stage.”
Research by the Law Society has found 42% of people do not have a local legal aid provider for housing advice. And the failure to increase the legal aid means test in line with inflation means fewer are eligible. The result, say The Law Society, are Legal Aid ‘deserts‘ where people are unable to access justice.
“The Bill may also lead to more contested hearings, as landlords will now have to show good reason for eviction. Renters will have a greater ability to challenge evictions, which may lead to additional cases entering the court system. The government must outline how it intends to equip courts with adequate resources to handle this rising demand, while dealing with existing backlogs. While we applaud the government for its great strides to bolster tenant rights, the Bill will not be effective without further investment in the justice system. We urge the government to provide greater funding and more clarity to the enforcement provisions so that justice is accessible to renters and landlords alike.”
Concludes Atkinson.
A separate sentiment survey conducted by Octane Capital found one in five investors expected to reduce the size of their portfolio over the coming year as a result of the reforms. The survey suggested the narrative around the exodus of landlords from the rental sector was exaggerated with 90% of those surveyed said that they had kept their portfolio size unchanged over the last 12 months, with just 7% deciding to reduce its size.
Looking at the next 12 months that falls to 75% saying they intended to keep it unchanged, with an increase to 21% saying they intended to reduce it, citing the proposed changes in the Renters’s Rights Bill as the number one reason for doing so; most pertinently the abolition of section 21 notices. The appointment of the Labour government ranked second, with the third biggest factor being that they were approaching retirement.
Commenting on the research Jonathan Samuels, Octane Capital CEO said
“It’s fair to say that the landlord exodus that has been so widely talked about in recent years has been largely over exaggerated and the vast majority of buy-to-let investors still view the private rental market as a worthwhile endeavour. However, there’s no doubt that the government’s consistent campaign to deter landlords from the sector by way of legislative changes has had an impact and, in a market that is already drastically undersupplied, we simply can’t afford to drive away investors.”
Unfortunately, it looks as though more could choose to exit during 2025 and the key reason for this decision is the Renters’ Rights Bill. Whilst any improvements to tenant welfare are, of course, positive, the concern is that landlords have been largely ignored with respect to the intended changes. In doing so, the government is likely to exacerbate the current rental crisis as without the vital supply of rental properties reaching the market, tenants will be worse off than they may be now.”
One Response
“42% of people do not have a local lead of aid provider for housing advice”
I believe I’ve spotted the worst typo and I claim my 5 pounds.