What is it? The Renters (Reform) Bill sets out the government's plans to reform the private rented sector and improve housing quality. The Bill, introduced to parliament on 17 May 2023, will need to pass through parliament before becoming law. Below we have summarised the main points that you need to know.

Key takeaways:

1. The Bill confirms plans to abolish Section 21- a process that enables private landlords to repossess their properties. Instead, landlords will only be able to evict a tenant under reasonable circumstances.
2. All Assured Shorthold Tenancies will move onto a single system of periodic tenancies. This means that rather than having a set 6 or 12 month contract they will instead, roll by every month without having a specified end date. Tenants will however still need to give landlords two months notice and landlords can only serve notice to tenants under “reasonable circumstances”.
3. Notice periods for rent increases will be doubled to help with the cost of living crisis. Rent increases will be limited to once per year and the minimum notice landlords must provide of any change in rent will be increased to two months. The white paper also outlines plans end the use of “rent review clauses”.
4. Tenants will have more rights to have a pet in the property. They must apply to the landlord to have a pet, the landlord then has 42 days to respond but can extend the decision period by 1 week if more information is requested. It is not a legal obligation for landlords to agree to having a pet and they can still say no but the Bill endeavours to make it easier for tenants. No additional charges are allowed to be made for a pet.

Robert Williams can offer advice to both tenants and landlords on the above changes, if there is anything we can assist with, please contact us on 01392 204800 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..