Property Condition and Decent Standards
Most landlords make sure that the houses and flats they rent out are safe and secure, warm and dry. But some landlords do not, and this means that some tenants live in dangerous or unhealthy conditions. The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 requires landlords to ensure that their rental properties are ‘fit for human habitation’, which means that they are safe and free from hazards.
The Act works alongside the Housing Act 1985 and the Housing Act 2004 - Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) which form the basis for ensuring that rented property reaches a certain standard. The private rented sector white paper outlined the measures that will require rented properties to be free from serious health and safety hazards, and landlords to keep homes in a good state of repair so renters have clean, appropriate and useable facilities.
Renters Reform - What will this mean for the PRS?
A lot of discussion has taken place since June 2022 when the government announced that the PRS would be Levelled Up, but what does that actually mean in practice and how will the Renters Reform Bill impact landlords, tenants and the PRS?
Firstly, one of the key points to consider is to ignore the trade press and national press who lead with headlines and never factor in the detail.
Abolishing Section 21
A lot of emphasis has been placed on ‘no fault Evictions’ when in fact what should actually be referred to is the service of notice to obtain vacant possession’. There is no way of evicting a tenant just by serving a section 21 and to clarify, the eviction process takes a lot longer than a mere two months.
The Section is the first step to a landlord gaining possession but with ‘no reason’ given, therefore the abolition of this notice will mean that the landlord will be required to state ‘grounds’ (reasons) should they wish to regain possession. This would require Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 (1996) to be amended.
Landlords may be given 2028 to reach EPC Rating of C
According to the Daily telegraph last week, the Government are due to announce announce a new deadline for the EPC rating of C to be achieved for all rental properties.
This announcement will be music to the ears of many landlords who will be given additional time to plan for any modifications that are required. It is important to note that whilst the objectives of the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero have been placed high on the Government’s agenda, the impact on landlords has been stressful.
The government originally proposed that all new lets from April 2025 would need to meet a minimum EPC rating of C, and all other tenancies would have to comply by 2028. However, given that many landlords are already struggling to deal with the peace meal approach to legislation as well as the possibility that Section 21 (Form 6A) will be abolished, the reaction is to sell up and call it a day.
Further information to follow once the announcement if made.
ASB to be tackled as Landlords promised power to Evict Anti-Social Tenants
Yesterday, the Department of Levelling Up announced their Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan which sets out an ambitious new approach to working with local agencies to tackle the blight of anti-social behaviour facing communities across England and Wales.
The plan includes details which will allow Landlords and law-abiding tenants to benefit from stronger laws and systemsto ensure those who are persistently disruptive are evicted. The aim is to seek to halve the delay between a private landlord serving notice for anti-social behaviour and eviction and broaden the disruptive and harmful activities that can lead to eviction. The plan also provides a clear expectation that previous anti-social behaviour offenders are deprioritised for social housing.