Breakthroughs: New rights for renters

Renting in England can be bleak. Many of us have lived, at some point in our lives, in a dingy, drafty, dilapidated flat, whose owner is squeezing as much profit as possible from the arrangement. There are good landlords and bad landlords, but today more people are being left to the mercies of the market for longer, with those aged 18-40 earning the inglorious title of “generation rent”.

This is a humanist issue: the right to a safe and secure roof over everyone’s head – but more than that, the right to a home where it’s possible to be joyful, express one’s personality, maybe build a family, and really live. So it’s music to our ears that, finally, the Renters’ Rights Act has come into force in England. The reforms might not be perfect, but they are a move in the right direction for the 11 million people who privately rent in this country.

Below are the main developments, which we should celebrate, and also work to enforce on the ground.

You can’t get kicked out with no reason.

“No fault” evictions, under which a private landlord could evict a tenant without giving a reason, have been abolished. Also called Section 21 evictions, these affected thousands of tenants each year – with some punished for complaining about poor conditions in so-called “revenge evictions”, or simply kicked out to enable excessive rent increases.

Of course, landlords can still evict tenants for specific reasons – such as anti-social behaviour or unpaid rent. They can also end the tenancy if they want to sell the property or move into it themselves, but under the new laws they won’t be able to do this during the first year of a tenancy, and they’ll need to give four months’ notice. Ultimately, it means more peace of mind for tenants.

Freedom to leave when you want

Fixed-term contracts are out – private properties will now be rented on a rolling basis, which means tenants will be able to leave at two months’ notice, whenever they want. This should bring an end to tenants finding themselves trapped in substandard housing. It also means they’ll be able to move if their circumstances change – for example, if they get a job elsewhere, or break up with their partner.

No more cowboy rent increases

Until now, landlords could take advantage of loopholes to impose frequent or excessive rent increases. That won’t be permissable anymore. On rolling contracts, the rent can only be raised once a year, to match market rates, and landlords must give tenants two months’ notice. This should prevent landlords from using rent hikes as a form of backdoor eviction.

Fairer to parents and people receiving state support

Finally, there’ll be a tougher crackdown on discrimination against families and tenants receiving housing benefit.

Benefit claimants are often turned away because of negative stereotypes, but also because landlords don’t want the bureaucratic hassle. Courts had previously ruled that such discrimination was unlawful under the Equality Act 2010, on the grounds that it disproportionately affects women and disabled people. But the Renters’ Rights Act is clearer, specifically banning this kind of discrimination and giving local councils the power to impose penalties.

Landlords are also sometimes reluctant to rent to families due to concerns about damage, noise or liability over safety hazards like steep stairs. Tenants with children were not previously protected from discrimination – but it has become critical as more families are privately renting than ever. Now, landlords will only be able to refuse them if there are legitimate concerns about the suitability of the property.

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We are yet to see how these reforms play out. Some argue the Act could lead to a reduction in rental housing, since it will be harder for landlords to turn a profit and manage the risks of renting out their properties.

However, the Social Market Foundation, a cross-party think tank, found there was no evidence of this having happened in Scotland, which introduced many similar regulations nearly a decade ago.

So, for now, we’re celebrating this shift in a positive direction – for everyone’s right to a place that feels like a home before they can afford to buy, and also (as may increasingly be the case) if they never will.