The Renters’ Rights Bill

16 April 2025

The rental market has been at the centre of legislative debate since the previous Government introduced the Renters’ Reform Bill. Post-election, there has been further debate over regulation of the rental market. The Renters’ Rights Bill (the “Bill”) has the potential to significantly shift the landscape of landlord and tenant disputes. While the Bill is still going through Parliament, and so is still subject to modification, in this article, Jake Newell provides a brief insight into the headline proposal of the abolition of section 21 evictions and the practical considerations of issuing a possession claim before the changes introduced by the Bill become law.

Section 21 Notices

Clause 2 of the Bill will remove the provisions which created Assured Shorthold Tenancies (“ASTs”). In the future it will no longer be possible to create ASTs. Any existing AST will automatically convert into a periodic tenancy. The current ability of a landlord to recover possession on a “no fault” basis is also going to be removed. In practice, this will make it more difficult for landlords to recover possession; a landlord will only be able to recover possession on the grounds set out in Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 after service of a Section 8 notice. Landlords wishing to use the Section 21 procedure will have to do so before the new law comes into force (the “Commencement Date”).

Existing Section 21 Notices and Proceedings
What if a landlord has served a section 21 notice before the Bill comes into force, but has not yet recovered possession by the Commencement Date?

– If there are possession proceedings which have been issued but not concluded before the Commencement Date, the Section 21 notice will remain valid, and the tenancy will still be treated as an assured shorthold tenancyAST for the duration of the proceedings.

– If a section 21 notice has been served but a landlord has not issued proceedings before the Commencement Date, under the current form of the Bill, the Section 21 notice will remain valid for a period of 6 months from service of the notice, or 3 months from the Commencement Date, if sooner. Providing proceedings are issued within that period, the tenancy will remain an assured shorthold tenancy, until possession proceedings are concluded. If proceedings are not issued within that period, a landlord will not be able to rely on the section 21 notice and the tenancy will roll over with the new statutory regime.

Jake has provided comments on this Bill previously and has watched it go through the legislative process. You can visit Jake’s LinkedIn post here.

If you have any questions regarding the above, would like Jake to give advice, or would like to
instruct Jake please contact his clerks.

Please note: the above update on the Bill does not constitute legal advice.

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