Rental Reforms: Key Changes for Landlords and Tenants

The government has set out its timetable for major rental reforms affecting both social housing and the private rental sector. These rental reforms aim to enhance tenant rights, improve housing standards, and ensure greater accountability for landlords.

Awaab’s Law: Strengthening Tenant Protections

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said the government is determined to drive a transformational and lasting change in the safety and quality of social housing. Tenants will also be given greater rights.

Ms Rayner said that one of the main changes will be to introduce Awaab’s Law to the social rented sector. She added: “Awaab’s Law is vital legislation that will empower social tenants to hold their landlords to account using the full force of the law if they fail to investigate and fix hazards within their homes within set timescales. It will also allow tenants to access the Housing Ombudsman if their landlord does not adhere to strict timelines for action.

“The government will bring Awaab’s Law into force for the social rented sector from October this year. We intend to act as quickly as possible to bring all relevant hazards within the scope of new legal requirements, but to ensure its effective implementation we will implement Awaab’s Law through a phased approach.

Phased Implementation Timeline

The proposed phasing will be as follows:

• From October 2025 – Social landlords will be required to address damp and mould hazards that present a significant risk of harm to tenants, within fixed timescales. From the same point in time, they will also have to address all emergency repairs, whether they relate to damp and mould or any other hazard, as soon as possible and within no longer than 24 hours.

• In 2026 – Requirements will expand to apply to a wider range of hazards beyond damp and mould. These will include excess cold and excess heat; falls; structural collapse; fire, electrical and explosions; and hygiene hazards.

• In 2027 – The requirements of Awaab’s Law will expand to apply to the remaining hazards as defined by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (England) Regulations 2005.

Additional Housing Reforms

Ms Rayner said that in the coming months, the government will bring forward further reforms designed to drive up standards across social housing to build greater trust and transparency between landlords and tenants. The government will:

• Consult on a new Decent Homes Standard and minimum energy efficiency standards, to ensure tenants’ homes are made safe, warm, and free from disrepair.

• Legislate to require social landlords to carry out electrical safety checks at least every five years, as well as mandatory appliance inspections on all electrical appliances that are provided by the landlord.

• Introduce new access to information requirements for private registered providers, so tenants can request information about the management of their homes, to support them in holding their landlords to account.

• Set new standards for the competence and conduct of staff, to ensure tenants are always treated with dignity and to support the creation of a thriving, professional, and skilled social housing workforce.

Extending Awaab’s Law to the Private Rental Sector

Ms Rayner said: “We are also taking powers through the Renters’ Rights Bill to extend Awaab’s Law to the private rented sector. We will be consulting in due course on how to apply Awaab’s Law to privately rented homes in a way that works for the sector and is fair and proportionate for tenants and landlords.

“Lastly, we must make sure that tenants’ voices are heard. We already have a range of initiatives in place including our Social Housing Resident Panel and our Four Million Homes tenant education programme and Make Things Right communications campaign, which supports tenants to better understand and exercise their rights.

“The government is exploring what more might be done to strengthen tenant voice so that tenants can speak for themselves on a more equal footing with other interests and can more effectively influence policymaking and regulation.”

Resolving Landlord-Tenant Disputes

Disputes and disagreements between private landlords and tenants are an unfortunate fact of life. Our highly experienced property litigation team works with a broad range of clients, both landlords and tenants, to resolve disputes in the most effective way through negotiation, mediation, or court and tribunal proceedings. Our team consists of highly experienced litigators working regularly in the High Court, County Court, and Property Tribunals.

Please contact us if you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of residential lettings law.