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14/7/25 8:13 pm
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Many landlords and letting agents will be wondering what happens next to the Renters’ Rights’ Bill now that the legislation has moved into what’s called its ‘ping pong’ period.
This is the to-and-fro between the Lords and MPs during which the former usually make several attempts to persuade the Commons to change the legislation to make it workable and remove obvious mistakes.
But this all begs the questions – when will the Renters’ Rights Bill become an Act and when will landlords have to begin complying with its myriad new rules?
LandlordZONE understands that a slot is now being sought by Government whips in the Lords to consider the outcome of Monday’s debate on the Bill in parliament during which housing minister Matthew Pennycook said that, other than on a few technical points, the Government is not going to compromise on its aim to give renters more security of tenure.
But the list of ‘business’ for the Lords this week does not include – yet – any time set aside for a further debate on the Bill and it's not clear whether Lords have the appetite to tackle the bill (given Labour's huge majority in the Commons) and are willing to force the Government to amend its more contentious measures.
Nevertheless, Labour is very keen to get the Bill to Royal Assent as fast as possible and ideally on its way before the party’s national conference at the end of the month.
Landlords are also concerned that there is no concrete timetable for implementing its various measures after the legislation goes live via secondary legislation. Remember many existing regulations and laws will need to be amended to make the Renters’ Rights Act, as it will become, a reality.
The only solid change that has been bolted down so far is that all tenancies both existing and going forward will become open-ended rather than the current fixed-term tenancy contracts most landlords use.
While Pennycook has promised letting agents and landlords will be given time to adjust to the huge changes, no timetable has been published to date.
“We welcome the Housing Minister’s commitment to ensure the rental market has sufficient notice ahead of the implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill,” says Ben Beadle (pictured), Chief Executive of the National Residential Landlords Association.
“However, this does not provide the clarity that renters and landlords desperately need to prepare for its arrival.
“With the Bill now close to receiving Royal Assent, the Government needs to make clear how long after this it expects to begin rolling out the widespread reforms. The sector cannot operate, and plan, based on vague and ambiguous statements.
“At least six months will be needed, after regulations are passed, to ensure a smooth transition to the new tenancy system. Anything less will be a recipe for confusion and chaos.”
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