The Renters’ Rights Bill: and another thing

Much of the commentary on the Renters’ Rights Bill (Bill) has focused on the abolition of Section 21 notices and the security of tenure that will now be enjoyed by private residential sector tenants. This will inevitably have a material effect on how landlords can manage portfolios of residential property.

However, the Bill also aims to tackle standards of repair (or rather disrepair) in residential properties, as examined in April’s edition of the Residential Property partners’ Brief. Those with long memories might observe that this is by no means the first time that governments have tried to intervene with minimum acceptable standards for housing. We have Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, which places a repairing responsibility on landlords and has been in force for a very long time. The Housing Act 2004 (in force since April 2006) introduced a substantial body of legislation again aimed at improving standards of residential accommodation (with enhanced enforcement obligations placed on local authorities as part of this push). The Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018, which came into effect in March 2019, then brought in further standards requiring landlords to ensure that rental properties were fit for human habitation.

However, notwithstanding the expanse of existing legislation, we hear all too often of landlords failing to maintain their properties to the required standards. The more cynical might wonder why the existing legislation has failed to deliver, and whether the Renters’ Rights Bill of 2025 is likely to be any more successful.

There are reasons to think things might be different this time. The first is the proposed creation of a property ombudsman, a database and potentially a property redress scheme. It appears that the schemes are to be funded by levies imposed upon landlords, and therefore it is possible that there will be resources to ensure that sanctions might be applied, as resourcing is currently a significant hurdle to local authority led enforcement action.

The second reason that the new system might work is that tenants will now enjoy (broadly speaking) security of tenure. While retaliatory eviction (evicting a tenant after they complain about disrepair) has been prohibited for some time now, the possibility of being served with a Section 21 notice would plainly act as a disincentive to most tenants when it comes to making a complaint to the landlord or an ombudsman. With security of tenure assured there is less disincentive to complain about wants of repair.

So, it is possible that this new legislation may have greater traction than all of the previous attempts. What remains to be seen, however, is how either the ombudsman or the redress scheme will work in practice when, in many instances, questions of disrepair can turn on expert surveyors’ evidence. The detail of how this will work will be interesting to see.

You may also be interested in our related article examining "The law (of unintended consequences)" in the context of the Bill. There are many proposed amendments to the Bill due to be considered at the House of Lords committee stage after Easter. So, the advice may be to pay attention. This may all change…

This publication is a general summary of the law. It should not replace legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

© Farrer & Co LLP, April 2025