It's important to understand that the Renters' Rights Bill aims to fundamentally change the relationship between landlords and tenants. This legislative undertaking seeks to dismantle long-standing imbalances, prioritising the security and wellbeing of renters.
Here's a step-by-step guide to the tenancy agreement process, outlining the key changes that landlords, property managers and tenants must embrace.
Initial contact and viewing
The Renters' Rights Bill will prohibit rental bidding, ensuring that the advertised rent is the final price. Once it's passed into law, landlords will have to adhere to this rule.
Open discussions about tenant rights, landlord obligations, and the property's condition should be encouraged during the viewing process.
Prospective tenants' questions about pet requests, for example, should be answered openly and honestly, detailing how those requests will be handled.
Drafting the tenancy agreement
Rolling periodic tenancy
The agreement must be a rolling, periodic tenancy. At the moment, the market is predominantly fixed-term assured shorthold tenancies, but these will be eliminated as part of reforms. As a result, all fixed-term tenancies will become rolling agreements.
Monthly rent and schedule
The rent amount should be clearly stated, and the rent payment schedule should be communicated to every tenant who enters into a contract. The agreement needs to include a clause for annual rent reviews to follow Section 13 guidelines.
Decent Homes Standard
Acknowledge the landlord's obligation to maintain the property to the Decent Homes Standard. This will become mandatory after the bill is implemented.
Pets
Tenants will have the right to request to keep a pet on their property. Clauses about the pet policy should be included. This breaks down into the tenant's right to request pets and the landlord's responsibilities in answering those requests.
Find out the new rules for pets in rentals under the Renters' Rights Bill.
Evictions
Eviction procedures need to be outlined in the tenancy agreement. The grounds for eviction are in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. The Renters' Rights Bill will abolish Section 21 evictions, which could initially be confusing. Defining Section 8 in the tenancy agreement and determining what actions will cause a breach of the contract will quickly clear this up for both the landlord and the tenant.
Our guide unpacks everything you need to know about Section 8 evictions.
Notice periods
Landlords may have to provide a longer notice period to tenants for eviction after the Renters' Rights Bill. This is particularly the case when dealing with rent arrears, which would require tenants to be at least three months behind on rent before eviction proceedings begin. This is accompanied by the increased notice period.
All notice periods must be clearly identified in the tenancy agreement.
Guarantor agreements
Ensure that guarantor agreements adhere to the new legislation. The Renters' Rights Bill introduces new protections for bereaved guarantors, preventing them from being liable for rent after a tenant dies. As a result, families won't have to face financial hardship due to rent problems.
Maintenance responsibilities
Landlord and tenant maintenance responsibilities must be clearly outlined. A tenant should know which issues are their own responsibility, such as buying and changing lightbulbs, and which the landlord must deal with, like a broken boiler.
Software such as Help Me Fix provides a video maintenance solution that is incredibly helpful for responding to and addressing problems quickly.
Final thoughts
The Renters' Rights Bill signals a significant shift in the landlord-tenant dynamic. It demands more transparency, fairness, and accountability. By adhering to these steps, property managers and landlords can stay one step ahead of the upcoming changes to the sector.
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