Accredited to The Independent Landlord

In the King’s Speech, the Labour government outlined its plans for a new Renters’ Rights Bill, which will give “greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including ending no fault evictions, and reforming grounds for possession”.

With Labour promising in its manifesto that it would abolish Section 21 “immediately”, it’s likely that the new Renters’ Rights Bill will have its first reading sooner rather than later.
The Renters’ Rights Bill is due to have its First Reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday 11 September (source Propertymark post on LinkedIn), just before the House rises for the conference recess on Thursday 12 September.

It will have its Second Reading in October, after the conference recess.
There has been a lot of lurid speculation over the summer about what will be in the Renters’ Rights Bill in the media.

However, in this blog post, I step back from the speculative hyperbole and explain exactly what the government has confirmed will be in the Renters’ Rights Bill.
This includes what the briefing notes to the King’s Speech states will be in the Renters Rights Bill and confirmation from Matthew Pennycook, the Housing Minister, that the government will not introduce rent controls.

I also examine the evidence for claims in the media that the government will introduce a hardship test for Section 8 evictions in the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Finally, I discuss which parts are likely to be different to the Renters Reform Bill, and what it all promises to mean in practical terms for landlords and tenants alike.

Following Labour’s victory in the 2024 general election, when will Labour carry out their long-standing promise to abolish Section 21?
Labour used the word “immediately” on page 79 of their 2024 election manifesto: “We will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions”. Angela Rayner even added “no ifs, no buts” to this promise when speaking in May 2024.

However, the notes to the King’s Speech confirmed that the abolition of Section 21 will be part of a new Renters’ Rights Bill, which is due to have its First Reading in the House of Commons on 11 September 2024.

As with all changes to statutes, the Renters’ Rights Bill will need to go through the normal process in both houses of parliament, which means that the earliest that Section 21 will be abolished for new tenancies is likely to be early 2025.

The Guardian quoted a “government source” on 7 September saying Section 21 would be abolished for new tenancies on Royal Assent, with a transition for existing tenancies. However, this has not been officially confirmed.

In this blog post, I explain what Section 21 is, what its abolition entails, when it could feasibility be done, recap the approach in the Renters Reform Bill and discuss what we know about the new Renters’ Rights Bill.