As has been much publicised, the new Labour Government has published the Renters’ Rights Bill. There are significant changes – and we will provide an overview of these in this article – and implications for private landlords on how to gain possession of their property, which will be the focus of this article.
The changes made in the bill will apply to both new and existing tenancies when it comes into law, which is expected to be spring/summer 2025.
Need to gain possession now?
If you need to regain possession of your property now, we suggest you issue a Section 21 notice as soon as possible and then your claim for possession, should that prove necessary.
If you do go to court, we strongly encourage you to request permission from the court to transfer up your possession order to the High Court for enforcement under a writ of possession by a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) under Section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984.
This is because we think it very likely that the courts will see a significant increase in the number of possession claims raised and you may run out of time to have the order enforced by a County Court Bailiff, as many regions already have long delays for the enforcement of possession orders. An HCEO will be able to enforce the writ of possession far more quickly.
For more information, please take a look at our eBook for private landlords.
Overview of key points of the Renters’ Rights Bill
- Section 21, the “no fault” eviction notice, will no longer be available
- Tenancies will all become periodic, with each period being no more than a month
- Tenants can serve two months’ notice to end the tenancy at any time, including on day one
- Landlords, on the other hand, will need to serve tenants with four months’ notice (currently 8 weeks) and only after an initial 12-month period
- Restrictions on rent reviews and limiting in-tenancy rent increases to annual
- Strict controls on offers and rent bidding when marketing a property
- Ban on discriminating against tenants with children or on benefits
- The right to keep pets
- Introduction of the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law to the private sector
- New grounds where the landlord needs to sell or move into the property – but only after the initial 12 months and with four months’ notice
- A new mandatory Ombudsman for all landlords
- A mandatory private rental sector database of landlords
Gaining possession under the Renters’ Rights Bill
Landlords will need to be very diligent to ensure that they have dotted every “i” and crossed every “t” with every aspect of the tenancy, to avoid their claim being refused or delayed as a result, and follow every procedure and service of notice to the letter.
Under the Renters’ Rights Bill, landlords will need to use Section 8 which requires a cause for evicting tenants. Non-payment of rent may not, on its own, be sufficient cause. Anti-social behaviour might be used as the justification, but landlords will require substantial evidence, with the burden of proof being on the landlord.
In the case of non-payment of rent, the new bill will require 13 weeks of arrears before they can serve notice.
However, the bill seems to imply that, if the tenant pays off some of their arrears during that time, then the clock restarts for the landlord. Unless this is amended during its passage through Parliament, this could mean a tenant could pay a small amount of rent just before the 13 weeks are up to avoid ever being in the position where notice could be served.
The need to show “robust grounds” for eviction is likely to mean that landlords will be quicker to go to court to start the possession claim. This will put a strain on the court system and result in delays and increasing costs.
It will also put pressure on County Court Bailiffs, many of whom are already experiencing lengthy delays with evictions. This will make the High Court enforcement option more attractive to many landlords, who would be wise to request permission to transfer their possession order to the High Court for enforcement under Section 42 of the County Courts Act 1984 to keep their options open.
Rent arrears
Whilst there is no getting away from the fact that landlords will need to wait longer and go through more steps to regain possession, they may still be able to use the courts in other ways to recover rent arrears, by pursuing a County Court Judgment (CCJ).
Once they have obtained the CCJ, this can then be transferred to the High Court for enforcement under a writ of control and permission is not required from the court.
The landlord can then instruct a High Court Enforcement Officer (HCEO) to enforce the writ by taking control of the tenant’s goods to satisfy the debt. This is a viable option should the tenant have sufficient assets.
Potential impact
Landlord groups are saying that they think this bill will have the effect of either making private landlords far more stringent in their tenancy checks and agreements or decide to stop letting to private tenants all together. A scarcity of demand only increases rent, a situation which many parts of the country are already experiencing.
Landlords may start pursuing legal action more often or earlier, which will place an increased burden on the courts. The previous Conservative government had commented in their Renters’ Reform Bill that increasing court capacity needed to be addressed before the legislation could come in, but this has not been addressed in the new Renters’ Rights Bill.
This new legislation might need some rethinking to avoid making renting more challenging and less affordable for tenants.
In conclusion
We wait to see what changes are made to the bill as it passes through Parliament and will provide updates as developments occur.
We know that landlords will probably need more support with gaining possession when they have tenants who are significantly in arrears and we are here to help.
High Court Enforcement Group
