Renters Rights Bill - Update 2.0

As a letting agent in Bournemouth, we’re helping landlords prepare for the Renters’ Rights Act and in our last blog we advised that members of the House of Lords had made several amendments ahead of the latest reading in July. On 8th September, many (and there some sensible) amenments were rejected by the Government.

ARLA Propertymark provided the below update to members this week on the rejected amendments which include -

"New pet damage deposit: An amendment that would have allowed landlords to request a separate "pet deposit" of up to three weeks' rent was overturned. The UK Government's position is that the existing pet consent measures are sufficient and that additional deposits would be a barrier to tenants.

Ground 4A: The UK Government agreed to the original version, which applies only to student houses in multiple occupation (HMOs), to allow for the academic year rental cycle. However, it has been adamant in rejecting any attempts to expand the use of fixed-term contracts or specific grounds for smaller student properties.

Reducing the re-letting period: The Lords had proposed reducing the period a landlord must wait before re-letting a property they previously repossessed to sell, from 12 months to 6 months. This was rejected to ensure tenant protection against landlords seeking to misuse the ground for sale."

Need advice on Property Management in Bournemouth? The changes to the Renters' Rights Act are significant, but you don't have to navigate them alone. If you would like to discuss the impact of this on you as landlords, and what this means for your tenants, please call our Bournemouth lettings team on 01202 554470. Whether you need a tenant-find service or a comprehensive full property management service, we are here to help.