The Renters’ Rights Bill passed the report stage in the House of Commons yesterday with amendments.
The bill will now go to the House of Lords, with updated proposals to cap how much rent in advance can be requested and require landlords to pay a fee to set up the private rented sector (PRS) ombudsman.
Addressing MPs on 14 January, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook said the government’s amendments to its bill would level the playing field between tenant and landlord and ensure the proposed legislation worked as intended.
It will also prevent an individual guarantor from being liable to pay rent after a tenant dies and introduce a compulsory PRS database.
Shadow Housing Minister David Simmonds MP said the bill did not give landlords and tenants the flexibility and freedom to agree a contract that suited them, and the limits to rent in advance would not give landlords the confidence to make allowances for financially riskier tenants.
Five ways we’ve improved our Premier service
Sponsored by Halifax Intermediaries
Fixing the ‘broken’ rental system
Pennycook thanked those involved in the bill, including deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner for her commitment to “improving the lives of England’s 11 million private renters”.
He added: “The current system for private renting is broken. While the government recognise that the majority of landlords provide high-quality homes and a good service to their tenants, it remains the case that the private rented sector still provides the least affordable, poorest quality and most insecure housing of all tenures.
“This intolerable state of affairs is why renters have been demanding change for many years, and I am extremely proud that this government have acted so early in the Parliament to deliver it.
“The Renters’ Rights Bill will deliver on our manifesto commitment to overhaul the regulation of the private rented sector and to decisively raise standards within it.
“We will finish the job and give England’s 11 million private renters the greater security, rights and protections they deserve.”
