Renters Rights Bill 2025: When Will Extensive Reforms Become Law?

The Renters Rights Bill has been progressing through Parliament at pace and looks set to get Royal Assent later this year. 

Since September 2024, the House of Commons and the Lords have been debating the bill and proposing amendments. 

Not much has changed during this process and most of the bill is likely to be passed in its original form.

This article explains what stage the bill has reached and what amendments have been discussed.

We’ll also remind you of why the Renter’s Rights Bill is being introduced and what changes it will bring.

Where Is the Renters Rights Bill Up to?

At the time of writing, the Renters Rights Bill has completed the committee stage. This is where peers in the House of Lords go through the report wording line by line and propose amendments.

The next step is the report stage. This is where MPs or Lords can review and debate changes made to the bill during the committee stage. It serves as a second opportunity to amend the bill before it moves to its final reading, after which it will get Royal Assent.

The report stage has yet to be tabled. However, it’s likely to happen soon, as the government sees the Renters Rights Bill as a key piece of legislation. Many believe that the government would like to pass the bill before the one-year anniversary of it taking office.

Therefore, it is likely to become law during June, before Parliament breaks up for the summer. 

It’s important to note that although the bill will become law at this time, some provisions could take time to be implemented. 

For example, the government has already said that abolishing Section 21 evictions, one of the bill’s key policies, won’t come into force until the Ministry of Justice’s digital courts platform is operating efficiently. 

Another good example is the database of private landlords, a major enforcement tool that the bill will introduce, which may take time to be set up.

What Happened at the Committee Stage?

The committee stage started on 22 April and concluded on 15 May. During this time, more than 300 amendments to the bill were discussed. However, very few of these were accepted. 

No non-governmental amendments (those proposed by industry stakeholders) or those from opposition parties were accepted. Those that were accepted, are all minor and were proposed by Labour peers.

However, some of these amendments could still be retabled and reconsidered during the report stage.

Here are some of the highlights:

Plans to have a three-month transition window

The bill originally gave landlords a three-month transition period to wrap up existing Section 21 and Section 8 evictions. 

However, this meant landlords would not be able to issue any new Section 21 notices once the Renters Rights Bill became law. 

A government amendment clarifies that landlords can use Section 21 or Section 8 notices at any time during the transition window.
 

3-month rent arrears

The Renters Rights Bill proposes extending the number of months’ rent arrears a resident can fall into before their landlord can repossess the property to three months, from two.

Many in the private rented sector (PRS) have argued that many small private landlords may not be able to afford this extended gap in their cash flow. This position is supported by the National Residential Landlords’ Association (NRLA).

Opposition peers proposed keeping this at two months; however, the amendment was not discussed and could be retabled during the report stage.

Student accommodation

One of the Renters' Rights Bill’s high-profile reforms is to scrap fixed-term tenancies and replace them with monthly rolling agreements. 

This has prompted concern among student housing providers, universities and landlords as it risks disrupting the academic rental cycle, where students typically rent properties for the academic year, with contracts agreed months in advance.

Two solutions were brought in to deal with this, earlier in the bill’s development: 

1. Introduce Ground 4a: This allows landlords to regain possession of a property at the end of an academic year, but only in very specific circumstances. 

2. Enabling purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) providers to continue offering fixed-term tenancies if they register with a government-approved code of practice.

However, these solutions have caused further confusion. As a result, further amendments were proposed at the committee:

Extend Ground 4a

For Ground 4a to apply, tenancies must be for a property occupied by at least three students, all of whom must be enrolled in full-time education. In effect, it applies only to shared student HMOs (houses in multiple occupations).

This creates a problem for the many student landlords who own one- or two-bedroom properties. Their residents will be able to end their tenancies at any point with minimal notice, meaning the landlord could lose tenants halfway through the academic year and they would be difficult to replace.

An amendment was proposed to expand Ground 4A to cover all types of student housing, not just HMOs. However, this amendment was not moved at the committee stage and therefore not debated or adopted, though it may return at the report stage.

Introduce a transitional measure for purpose-built student accommodation

Many in the industry are concerned that the government code of practice is not yet in place. This could lead to a period of legal uncertainty where PBSA operators are unable to issue fixed-term contracts, disrupting standard tenancy arrangements for thousands of students.

To address this, peers proposed creating a transitional Ground 4B, which would temporarily give PBSA providers the right to regain possession at the end of a fixed term until the new regulatory framework is in place. This amendment was also not adopted at the committee stage.

Will amendments be accepted in the next stages?

It’s difficult to say. It seems like the government is fast-tracking the Renters Rights Bill and is ignoring opposition amendments to ensure a swift process. 

If there is enough public pressure, then some amendments may be retabled and discussed; however, the government appears to have little appetite to make changes at this point.

Now you know where the Renters Rights Bill is up to, let’s remind you of why it was introduced. 

Why Does the UK Need Private Rented Sector Reform?

Private rented housing sector reform is well overdue. Renters face a range of issues, including:

• Private renters can be evicted for no reason thanks to Section 21. According to Shelter, nearly 230,000 renters were served Section 21 notices between April 2019 and April 2023. This leads to instability, especially for families, older renters, and those on low incomes.

• Too many rental homes are in poor condition, with one in five not meeting the Decent Homes Standard. 

• People with children, pets and those on benefits all face discrimination from landlords. 

• Councils often lack the resources to enforce good practices and standards in the industry.

• Rental costs are rising faster than wages, contributing to financial insecurity and homelessness.
  
  

What Policies Will the Renters Rights Bill Introduce?

The Renters Rights Bill aims to rebalance the relationship between landlords and residents. 

The most high-profile policy is abolishing Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions. 

This means landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants unless they meet one of the grounds listed in Section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. 

These grounds include:

• Wanting to sell the property

• Moving in themselves or letting family move in

• Serious rent arrears or anti-social behaviour

This is aimed at improving resident security by reducing the number of people forced to leave their homes.

Other rules being introduced include:

• Ending fixed-term tenancies: All new tenancies will become periodic (or rolling) by default, allowing tenants to leave with two months’ notice at any time.

• Right to request a pet: Tenants will have the legal right to request a pet, and landlords can’t refuse unless they have a reasonable excuse (like an allergy). They may require pet insurance to cover damage.

• Private rented sector database: A new national landlord and property portal will be introduced to improve transparency, help tenants check compliance, and support local enforcement.

• Ban on blanket discrimination: Landlords and agents will be banned from blanket “No DSS” policies, which prevent tenants on benefits from renting, as well as from discriminating against families with children.

• Decent Homes Standard for PRS: The standard, already used in social housing, will apply to the private sector for the first time. However, this is still pending a consultation and it’s not clear when it will come into effect.

• Stronger local authority powers: Councils will get better tools to enforce standards and take action against non-compliant landlords.

• Rent repayment orders strengthened: Tenants will be able to reclaim rent in more situations where landlords break the law.

• Enhanced redress: All landlords must join a government-approved ombudsman scheme to resolve disputes without going to court. However, landlords have not been given any details on how or when they can do this. 

• Notice periods extended for landlords: In some cases (like selling the property), landlords will have to give tenants four months’ notice, not two.
  
  

What Should Landlords Do Now?

The Renter’s Rights Bill will soon become law, and landlords should start preparing now, even though many of its measures could take time to come into effect.

Here are a few steps to ensure you’re ready:

💡 Review your tenancy agreements: Fixed-term contracts will be replaced with rolling tenancies. Understand how this will affect your current portfolio.

💡 Plan for the end of Section 21: Although this law won’t be scrapped until court reforms are in place, it’s worth reviewing whether you intend to use it and if you’ll need to rely on other grounds for possession.

💡 Stay alert for PRS database and ombudsman updates: Landlords will need to register properties and sign up to a redress scheme. While timelines haven’t been confirmed, these systems could be introduced at short notice.

💡 Update internal policies: Landlords and agents should ensure documentation correctly reflects the law. For example, tenancy agreements and policies should allow people with pets and children, as well as those on benefits, to become residents.

A New Chapter for the Private Rented Sector

The Renters Rights Bill will soon be law, whether you support it or not.  

For now, landlords should monitor developments closely and prepare for phased implementation in late 2025 and into 2026. 

The housing landscape is about to change, and being aware and proactive will be critical. 

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