Renters (Reform) Bill not passed before Parliament dissolves

Following the Prime Minister calling a General Election for 04 July 2024, the Renters (Reform) Bill has not been passed in the wash up period before Parliament dissolves. 

The Bill was introduced in May 2023 following the Government’s white paper ‘A fairer private rented sector’ (June 2022). It was intended to deliver the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to create a fairer rental market for tenants and landlords, a key feature of which was abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. The Bill proposed a multitude of significant changes for both the private rented sector and social housing, including tenancy reform, amended grounds for possession, and the introduction of a Landlord redress scheme for the private rented sector. You can access our full briefing of the proposals on The Renters (Reform) Bill.

The wash-up period is the last few days of a Parliament before dissolution, and any unfinished business is lost when Parliament dissolves. The practical implication of this has previously seen some Bills being completely lost. 

The Bill did have broad cross-party support, although Labour appear keen to implement abolishing section 21 evictions without waiting for reform of the court system, which the Conservative party had promised would happen first. Both Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader & Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and Shadow Housing Minister, Matthew Pennycook, have said on a number of occasions that they would abolish no fault evictions in their first 100 days in power, regardless of the challenges posed by delays in the court system.

As it stands, the Bill is currently shelved and the housing sector will be eagerly waiting to see what the new Government's intentions are regarding this significant area of reform.