New law to protect private renters gets passed

A new law to give additional rights to people living in the private rented sector passed its final stage this week with campaigners now calling for it to be implemented “as soon as possible” to bring certainty for both landlords and tenants.

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 will abolish “no fault” Section 21 evictions, include other reforms to improve living conditions, and will create a private rented sector ombudsman to resolve disputes.

An implementation date for the legislation to take affect has not yet been announced but a timetable for how it is to be rolled out is due in the coming weeks says the government.

Campaign group Generation Rent is calling for the law it to be implemented in three months’ time and no longer than six months.

“The Government must now give clarity to renters and landlords by announcing an implementation date quickly, bringing in renters’ new rights as soon as possible,” said Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent.

Keir Starmer, prime minister and MP for Holborn and St Pancras, said: “Every family deserves the dignity of a safe and secure home.

“For too long, millions of renters have lived at the mercy of rogue landlords or insecure contracts, with their futures hanging in the balance. We’re putting an end to that.”

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said:

“This is the most significant shake-up of the rental market in almost 40 years, and it is imperative that the new systems work for both tenants and responsible landlords. The NRLA stands ready to work with the Government to ensure the reforms are implemented in a way that is fair, proportionate and deliverable.”

Sean Palmer, executive director of homelessness charity St Mungo’s, said:

“That the long-awaited Renters’ Rights Bill will soon become law is a watershed moment for tenants across the country, and welcome news for everyone committed to ending UK homelessness.”

However, rent levels remain largely unaffordable for the majority of people living in both Camden and Westminster as well as across Greater London and are a key driver of homelessness.

Currently, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom flat in the London Borough of Camden is £2,030 and is £2,555 in City of Westminster — between four and 11 per cent higher than a year ago.

The new law will not bring in rent controls and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan currently lacks powers from central government to impose them in the private rented sector.

In 2019, Khan published a report in which he expressed support for rent controls and said he would seek to establish a commission to design what an effective system of rent control could look like.

Instead the reforms announced by the government this week will include:

• Abolishing Section 21 evictions and a simpler tenancy structure.  
• Ensure possession grounds are fair to both parties, giving tenants more security, while ensuring landlords can recover their property when reasonable.   
• Provide stronger protections against backdoor eviction by ensuring tenants are able to appeal excessive above-market rents which are purely designed to force them out.   
• Introduce a new Private Rented Sector Landlord Ombudsman that will provide quick, fair, impartial and binding resolution for tenants’ complaints about their landlord.   
• Create a Private Rented Sector Database to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, and provide better information to tenants to make informed decisions when entering into a tenancy agreement.   
• Give tenants strengthened rights to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse. To support this, landlords will be able to require pet insurance to cover any damage to their property.  
• Apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector to give renters safer, better value homes and remove the blight of poor-quality homes in local communities.  
• Apply “Awaab’s Law” to the sector, setting clear legal expectations about the time frames within which landlords must take action to make homes safe where they contain serious hazards.  
• Make it illegal for landlords and agents to discriminate against prospective tenants in receipt of benefits or with children.  
• End the practice of rental bidding by prohibiting landlords and agents from asking for or accepting offers above the advertised rent. Landlords and agents will be required to publish an asking rent for their property and it will be illegal to accept offers made above this rate.  
• Strengthen local authority enforcement by expanding civil penalties, introducing a package of investigatory powers and bringing in a new requirement for local authorities to report on enforcement activity.  
• Strengthen rent repayment orders by extending them to superior landlords, doubling the maximum penalty and ensuring repeat offenders have to repay the maximum amount.

Government announcement: Historic Renters’ Rights Act becomes law.

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