Discretionary Housing Payments
Local authority Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can provide additional financial assisance to households receiving the housing costs element of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
The Renters (Reform) Bill will abolish assured shorthold tenancies and section 21 evictions. This paper explains the Bill’s provisions.
Renters (Reform) Bill 2022-23 (1,008 KB , PDF)
The Renters (Reform) Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 May 2023. It will fulfil the 2019 Conservative manifesto commitment to abolish ‘no fault’ evictions in England. The Government’s plans for reform were set out in the white paper A fairer private rented sector (June 2022) which followed several earlier consultation exercises. The debate on second reading is scheduled for 23 October 2023.
Bodies representing tenants expressed frustration over the Bill’s lack of progress after publication, pointing to ongoing difficulties faced by tenants experiencing section 21 evictions.
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee made a series of recommendations in its February 2023 report Reforming the Private Rented Sector. The Committee expressed disappointment over delays to receipt of the Government response. The response was published on 20 October 2023.
Assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) were introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and became the default tenancy in the private rented sector (PRS) in England and Wales from 28 February 1997.
ASTs offer no long-term security of tenure. Section 21 of the 1988 Act enables private landlords to repossess their properties without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant. It is referred to as the ‘no-fault’ ground for eviction.
Over time, evidence has shown this lack of security has led to tenants feeling unable to enforce their rights in relation to repairs and to challenge unreasonable rent increases. The foreword to A fairer private rented sector says “far too many renters are living in damp, dangerous, cold homes, powerless to put things right, and with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them.”
Local housing authorities argue no fault evictions increase the likelihood of homelessness. Landlord bodies dispute this. They say homeless applications from people living in the sector are linked more closely to rent arrears caused by welfare reform, and that landlords use section 21 to avoid lengthy processes and the uncertainty associated with evicting tenants through service of a section 8 notice and establishing a ground for eviction set out in schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988.
There’s currently no legal requirement for private landlords in England to belong to a redress scheme. Tenants are often left to negotiate with their landlords and enforce their rights through the courts.
Although local authorities have extensive powers to tackle poor property conditions and management standards in the PRS, there’s evidence of low and inconsistent levels of enforcement between authorities. A lack of robust data and information on the sector is recognised as a key barrier to effective enforcement action.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has published a series of guides to different parts of the Bill.
An Impact Assessment (IA) was submitted for review by the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC). The RPC published its opinion on a revised version of the IA in July 2023. The Impact Assessment was published in July 2023 (PDF).
Broadly, tenant organisations welcome the abolition of ‘no fault’ evictions while landlord bodies initially opposed it. More recently, the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) and others have focused on changes landlords require to retain confidence under the new regime. This includes reformed grounds for possession; improved dispute resolution; and a review of enforcement.
Landlords are focused on the speed and efficiency with which courts process possession claims. The Bill does not address this but the Government has confirmed abolition of section 21 will not happen until reforms to the justice system are in place.
Tenant bodies are concerned that giving a landlord a right to repossess if they want to sell or occupy the property amounts to creating new ‘no fault’ eviction grounds. They argue the evidence thresholds and protections offered in the Bill are insufficient and need to be strengthened if the ambition of creating a fairer PRS is to be achieved. It’s been suggested that linking the abolition of section 21 to court reforms means implementation may be delayed by two to three years.
The provisions to establish a single Ombudsman for the PRS and to require all private landlords to join have been broadly welcomed by stakeholders, as has the establishment of the Property Portal.
Enforcement measures are viewed as important by all stakeholders. The housing charity Shelter and others are calling for adequate funding so local authorities can carry out effective enforcement.
A fairer private rented sector included several legislative commitments not included in the Bill. The Secretary of State at the DLUHC, Michael Gove, said these measures will be legislated for “in this Parliament”, including:
Renters (Reform) Bill 2022-23 (1,008 KB , PDF)
Local authority Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) can provide additional financial assisance to households receiving the housing costs element of Universal Credit or Housing Benefit.
The Renters' Rights Bill is scheduled to have its second reading on 9 October 2024. This briefing provides background to the bill and an overview of its main provisions.
Find out how many households are homeowners, private renters, and social renters in your constituency, based on census data