A Dog’s Dinner: Late Renters’ Rights amendment a new blow for landlords
Landlords will need to foot the bill for damage caused by pets under a new government amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill tabled at the eleventh hour.
The amendment, announced today, will reverse an earlier pledge that would allow landlords to require tenants to have insurance to cover pet damage – less than a week before the Bill returns to the House of Lords for Report stage.
Landlords will still be expected to accept tenants with pets, unless there is a good reason not to, but removing the insurance requirement could leave them seriously out of pocket.
The late change could also make it even harder for tenants with pets to find homes, as landlords become more risk averse.
The annoucement also comes despite the Housing Secretary having previously argued that enabling landlords to request insurance would mean ‘no one is left unfairly out of pocket’.
Ultimately, it will now be for the courts, and the planned Ombudsman for the private rented sector, to rule on these matters.
Shoddy and outrageous
Ben Beadle, NRLA chief executive, said: “This is a shoddy and outrageous way to make law.
“Ministers keep talking about how the Bill works for responsible landlords and yet they seem incapable of speaking to those representing them.
“Yet again the Government simply expects responsible landlords to shoulder even greater risks without any consultation about the likely impact.
“It comes on top of plans which allow tenants to build higher levels of rent arrears, expect landlords to shoulder the cost of delays to an already sclerotic courts system, and make it harder for tenants with poor or no credit ratings to demonstrate their ability to sustain a tenancy.
“Whilst the Government might say that they are fighting their corner it is tenants who will lose out as landlords become more risk averse.”
Other new amendments
Alongside changes to pet liability insurance, the Government has tabled several other amendments. Key amongst these are:
Potential changes to rent appeals and backdating
As it stands, the Bill will allow tenants to appeal any rent increase, regardless of how reasonable it is, with no fee to do so.
We raised strong concerns that, since the Tribunal cannot raise a rent beyond what the landlord proposes, and any increase will only apply from the date of the Tribunal’s decision, there is a clear incentive to appeal, potentially overwhelming the system.
The Government has recognised this risk, and has now proposed powers to backdate rent increases to the date in the landlord’s notice, but only if the Tribunal becomes overloaded.
At present it’s unclear when or how this power would be used, and we are urging peers to seek clarity at Report stage.
At the very least, the Government should explain what would trigger the measure, confirm whether Tribunal performance data will be published, and provide assurances that this power will not be used in a way that causes further delay.
Changes to rules on rent in advance and rental periods
Another new amendment confirms that existing tenancies (those signed before the Bill takes effect) will not be affected by the ban on taking rent in advance. This is a significant win for us and follows a campaign on the issue in which we flagged the potential consequences of the original plans on vulnerable tenants.
As a result of this amendment landlords will still be allowed to request rent upfront, for example every six months or each academic term, for the duration of these tenancies.
However, once the Bill is implemented, all periodic assured tenancies will be treated as having monthly rental periods, regardless of whether the tenant pays rent less frequently (for example, every six months). This matters because it affects when a tenant can end their tenancy (they will have the same right to give two month's notice as other tenants under the Bill) and will also compel landlords to refund any overpaid rent.
For more detail on this change and how it will work in practice watch the video from our head of policy James Wood below.
