What next for the Renters Reform Bill?

A lot of chatter has appeared in the trade press over the last 24 hours regarding the Renters Reform Bill and the intentions of the Labour Party if they win a general election. A lot of the discussion circulates around the abolition of Section 21 (Form 6A), so much so that landlords are constantly having a ‘knee jerk’ reaction every time the trade press, national press, TV reports, a blog make reference to the notice disappearing.

All those who report on the Renters Reform Bill do so irresponsibly, misleading landlords, landlords who in 2019 reacted to the initial proposal of abolishing the Section 21 notice who were unfortunately thought the notice would be abolished immediately. But let’s also think about tenants and the impact this ‘misinformation’ has had on them. Many tenants could have avoided having notice served on them and worse still, facing accelerated possession through the courts and possibly eviction. It has not and will not be abolished for a while.

What happens next?

On the 28th November 2023, the Public Bill Committee discussed the Renters Reform Bill during the committee debates - 9th and 10th Sittings the MP for Redcar and Clevland, Jacob Young stated the following:-

“As we have said a number of times in Committee, these are the most significant reforms of the private rented sector in 30 years, and it is critical that we get them right. I am as wedded to ensuring that section 21 is abolished at the earliest opportunity as the hon. Member is, in order to provide vital security for tenants, but we have to ensure that the system is ready.

It might be helpful for me to explain how we are improving the courts, and what needs to happen to prepare the courts for the new tenancy system. Court rules and systems need updating to reflect the new law; there is no way that this can be avoided. Furthermore, we have already fully committed to a digital system that will make the court process more efficient and fit for the modern age. Let me reassure the Committee that we are doing as much as possible before the legislative process concludes. The design phase of our possession process digitisation project is under way, and has more than £1 million of funding. That will pave the way for the development and build of a new digital service.

We are also working to tackle concerns about bailiff delays, including by providing for automated payments for debtors. That will reduce the need for doorstep visits, so that bailiffs can prioritise possession enforcement. We are going further with the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service in exploring improvements to bailiff recruitment and retention policies; we touched on that. It would simply be a waste of taxpayers’ money to spend millions of pounds building a new system when we do not have certainty on the legislation underpinning it. That is why we will set out more details and implementation dates in due course.

Let me be clear that this is not a delaying tactic. There are 2.4 million landlords. Urban and rural landlords, their representatives and business tell us that they have concerns about delays in the courts. We cannot simply ignore that. We have always been clear that implementation would be phased, so that the sector has time to adjust, and we committed to giving notice of the implementation dates in the White Paper last year.”

In short, without reforming the court system and ensuring that bailiff recruitment is addressed, the Renters Reform Bill may become law in ‘piecemeal’ fashion, a possible theory substantiated by David Smith of JMW Solicitors.

A lot has to happen in the coming months for the Renters Reform Bill to gain further momentum including properly educating landlords and tenants.