Landlords should familiarise themselves with new rules that are being introduced to protect tenants’ rights.
The fairer private rented sector white paper outlined new measures, including outlawing blanket bans on renting to families with children or those receiving benefits.
It also ends the use of rent review clauses, protecting renters from steep increases in prices and enabling them to receive refunds for non-decent homes.
Tenants will also be able to ask for a pet to live in the property, which the landlord cannot refuse without reasonable justification.
In addition to this, there will be a single system of periodic tenancies, so tenants can leave housing that is of a poor standard or move out if their circumstances suddenly change. However, the landlord and tenant need to have a valid reason to end the tenancy.
Other measures include doubling notice periods for rent increases and providing councils with stronger powers against the worst offenders.
Housing secretary Michael Gove said these steps, which will form part of the Renters Reform Bill, “will help to end this injustice by improving the rights and conditions for millions of renters”.
He added: “For too long, many private renters have been at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords who fail to repair homes and let families live in damp, unsafe and cold properties.”
This announcement comes after HomeLet recently revealed the average rent in the UK increased by 10.6 per cent between May 2021 and May 2022 to £1,103.
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