Renters Rights Bill set for Commons launch Mortgage Finance Gazette

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The government is set to introduce its Renters’ Rights Bill to the Commons this week, which will include abolishing Section 21, ‘no fault’ evictions.  

The draft law, which will apply in England, will set out a range of tenant protections, that range from banning landlords from evicting tenants without a reason to allowing renters to request a pet.  

It will also seek to extend Awaab’s law, from social to private sector landlords, according to a report in the Guardian.  

This will require landlords or their agents to carry out key repairs within a specified period, with the exact period likely to be decided after a consultation.  

The measure is named after toddler Awaab Ishak who died after exposure to mould in his family’s social rented home in 2020.  

During the summer general election campaign, Labour said it would ban ‘no fault’ evictions immediately if it won power.  

The Conservative administration had steered a similar Renter’s Reform Bill through the House of Commons, but was opposed by backbench Tory MPs who were concerned about the ability of landlords to remove anti-social renters and tenants in debt from their properties through the courts.   

The Bill ran out of time when the last parliament was dissolved at the end of May.  

Conservatives first promised to ban ‘no fault’ evictions in its 2019 manifesto.  

Generation Rent chief executive Ben Twomey says: “The Labour Party’s commitment to supporting renters is welcome.   

“The process of reform cannot be held back by landlords’ vested interests any longer and the next government must stand up to people profiting from weak tenants’ rights.”  

Labour included its Renters’ Rights Bill in the King’s Speech in July.  

At the time, National Residential Landlords Association policy director Chris Norris said: “The system that replaces Section 21 needs to be fair, workable and sustainable for both responsible landlords and renters.   

“That means fixing a broken justice system which too often fails those reliant upon it.”