Renter's Rights Bill - what next?
The Renter's Rights Bill had its third reading in the House of Lords on 21 July 2025 and is now back with the House of Commons for consideration of the Lords' amendments. It is expected that the Commons will review those amendments on 8 September 2025. The Government is keen to see this bill receive Royal Assent as soon as possible.
However, the Lords have introduced a number of landlord friendly amendments. It will be interesting to see whether the Government are prepared to accept these amendments for the sake of speed, or whether the houses will enter into a game of ‘ping pong’ before a final form bill can be agreed upon.
In terms of the amendments, and by way of example, one of the most controversial provisions of the draft bill is the idea that tenants can seek to challenge any proposed rent increase in the tribunal (free of any potential costs consequences) and that any such increase will only take effect after final determination. The effects of this are twofold; firstly, tenants will have nothing to lose when challenging the rent increase; and secondly there is likely to be an influx of applications to the tribunal, which is already stretched, challenging the rent. Whilst the Lords have not reversed this amendment, they have made a small concession which will allow the Secretary of State to substitute, by way of regulation, a different date of determination, in the event there is a predicted influx of challenges. Whilst this does not immediately address the concern, it does mean that there is a slightly more straightforward method by which this can be amended if necessary.
A similarly controversial point related to the keeping of pets; as originally drafted the bill allowed a landlord to take out pet insurance to protect against any costs of damage to the property as a result of pets kept in the property. There was an amendment proposed to remove this entirely which caused significant concern amongst landlords, and so the concession has been to allow for a pet deposit of up to three weeks rent, and which will be protected in the same way as the main tenancy deposit.
These are just two examples of points which have caused much debate and where amendments have been proposed to try and alleviate the concerns of landlords, but have not gone far enough.
The aim of the bill is to give better protection to tenants from rogue landlords. But, it seems the effect of the bill, the uncertainty, and reliance on the already stretched Court and Tribunal system, is driving responsible landlords away from the sector. The RICS Residential Market Survey for June 2025 shows a continued decline in landlord instructions in the lettings market. Some landlords have reportedly turned to the short term/holiday let market as an alternative. Inevitably, a drop in supply will cause an increase in demand and as a potential consequence, higher rents. So from that perspective, it seems the bill is perhaps having the opposite effect to what the Government intended.
For further information or to find out how the Bill might affect you, please reach out to a member of our Real Estate team.