Legislation – Renters’ Rights Act 2025

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Introduction

Part 1
Tenancy reform

Chapter 1 Assured tenancies

End of certain kinds of assured tenancy

1 Assured tenancies to be periodic with rent period not exceeding a month

2 Abolition of assured shorthold tenancies

Grounds for possession

3 Changes to grounds for possession

4 Possession for anti-social behaviour: relevant factors

5 Form of notice of proceedings for possession

Rent and other terms

6 Statutory procedure for increases of rent

7 Challenging amount or increase of rent

8 Prohibition of rent in advance after lease entered into (except initial rent)

9 Prohibition of rent in advance before lease entered into

10 Repayment of rent paid for days after end of tenancy

11 Right to request permission to keep a pet

Duties of landlords etc

12 Duty of landlord and contractor to give statement of terms etc

13 Other duties

14 Landlords acting through others

Landlords etc: financial penalties and offences

15 Landlords etc: financial penalties and offences

16 Financial penalties: procedure, appeals and enforcement

Landlords etc: supplementary

17 Duties of landlords etc, penalties and offences: interpretation

18 No criminal liability of the Crown under Part 1 of 1988 Act

19 Guarantor not liable for rent payable after tenant’s death

Other changes

20 Notices to quit by tenants under assured tenancies: timing

21 Notices to quit by tenants under assured tenancies: other

22 Limitation on obligation to pay removal expenses

23 Assured agricultural occupancies: grounds for possession

24 Assured agricultural occupancies: opting out etc

25 Accommodation for homeless people: duties of local authority

26 Tenancy deposit requirements

27 Tenant fees

Other amendments

28 Liability of tenants under assured tenancies for council tax

29 Other amendments

Powers of Secretary of State

30 Powers of Secretary of State in connection with Chapter 1

Chapter 2 Tenancies that cannot be assured tenancies

31 Long tenancies and financial services products

32 Accommodation for homeless people or students

Chapter 3 Discrimination in the rental market: England

Discrimination and discriminatory terms: children and benefits status

33 Discrimination relating to children

34 Discrimination relating to benefits status

35 Discriminatory terms in a tenancy relating to children or benefits status

36 Terms in superior leases relating to children or benefits status

37 Terms in mortgages relating to children or benefits status

38 Terms in insurance contracts relating to children or benefits status

Discrimination and discriminatory terms: power to protect others

39 Power of the Secretary of State to protect others

Discrimination: financial penalties

40 Financial penalties for breach of anti-discrimination provisions

Supplementary

41 No prohibition on taking income into account

42 Interpretation of Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Discrimination in the rental market: Wales

Prohibitions of discrimination

43 Discrimination relating to children or benefits status: Welsh language

44 Discrimination relating to children or benefits status: English language

45 Amendment of short title of Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019

Discriminatory terms

46 Amendments of Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 regarding discrimination

Supplementary

47 Power of Welsh Ministers to protect others

48 Power of Secretary of State to protect others

49 Regulations

Chapter 5 Discrimination in the rental market: Scotland

Discrimination and discriminatory terms: children and benefits status

50 Discrimination relating to children or benefits status

51 Terms in standard securities relating to children or benefits status

52 Terms in insurance contracts relating to children or benefits status

Discrimination and discriminatory terms: power to protect others

53 Power of Scottish Ministers to protect others

54 Power of Secretary of State to protect others

Supplementary

55 Interpretation of Chapter 5

Chapter 6 Stating the proposed rent and rental bidding

56 Requirement to state rent and to avoid rental bidding

57 Financial penalties

Chapter 7 Miscellaneous

58 Penalties for unlawful eviction or harassment of occupier

59 Abandoned premises under assured shorthold tenancies

60 Remedying of hazards occurring in dwelling-houses in England

61 Remedying of hazards occurring in accommodation in England occupied under licence

62 Student accommodation that is not an HMO

Part 2
Residential landlords

Chapter 1 Meaning of “residential landlord”

63 Meaning of “residential landlord”

Chapter 2 Landlord redress schemes

Landlord redress schemes

64 Landlord redress schemes

65 Approval and designation of landlord redress schemes

66 Financial penalties

67 Offences

68 Decision under a landlord redress scheme may be made enforceable as if it were a court order

69 Landlord redress schemes: no Crown status

Guidance

70 Guidance for scheme administrator and local housing authority

Interpretation

71 Interpretation of Chapter 2

Related amendments

72 Housing activities under social rented sector scheme

73 Other amendments connected with landlord redress schemes

74 Local Commissioners’ investigation of complaints by persons who are not tenants

Chapter 3 The Private Rented Sector Database

The database and the database operator

75 The database

76 The database operator

Landlord and dwelling entries

77 Making entries in the database

78 Requirement to keep active entries up-to-date

79 Circumstances in which active entries become inactive and vice versa

80 Verification, correction and removal of entries

81 Fees for landlord and dwelling entries

Marketing, advertising and letting

82 Restrictions on marketing, advertising and letting dwellings

Entries relating to banning orders, offences, financial penalties, etc.

83 Entries relating to banning orders, offences, financial penalties, etc.

Further duties of database operator

84 Allocation of unique identifiers

85 Other duties

Access to and use of information in database

86 Access to the database

87 Disclosure by database operator etc

88 Use of information from the database

Removal of entries

89 Removal of entries from database

Enforcement

90 Restriction on gaining possession

91 Financial penalties

92 Offences

Final provisions

93 Power to direct database operator and local housing authorities

94 Entries under section 83: minor and consequential amendments

95 Different provision for different purposes: joint landlords

96 Interpretation of Chapter 3

Chapter 4 Part 2: supplementary provision

97 Financial assistance by Secretary of State

98 Rent repayment orders for offences under the Housing Act 1988 and sections 67 and 92 of this Act

99 Interpretation of Part 2

Part 3
Decent homes standard

100 Decent homes standard

101 The standard of MOD accommodation

Part 4
Enforcement

Chapter 1 Sanctions

102 Financial penalties

103 Rent repayment orders: liability of landlords and superior landlords

104 Rent repayment orders: liability of directors etc

105 Unlicensed HMOs and houses: offences

106 Service of improvement notices on landlords and licensors

Chapter 2 Enforcement authorities

107 Enforcement by local housing authorities: general duty

108 Enforcement by local housing authorities: duty to notify

109 Enforcement by county councils: duty to notify

110 Duty to report

111 Lead enforcement authority

112 General duties and powers of lead enforcement authority

113 Enforcement by the lead enforcement authority

Chapter 3 Investigatory powers

Investigatory powers under this Act

114 Power of local housing authority to require information from relevant person

115 Power of local housing authority to require information from any person

116 Enforcement of power to require information from any person

117 Limitation on use of information provided under section 115

118 Business premises: entry without warrant

119 Duties where occupiers are on business premises entered without warrant

120 Business premises: warrant authorising entry

121 Business premises: entry under warrant

122 Power to require production of documents following entry

123 Power to seize documents following entry

124 Access to seized documents

125 Appeal against detention of documents

126 Suspected residential tenancy: entry without warrant

127 Duties where occupiers are on residential premises entered without warrant

128 Suspected residential tenancy: warrant authorising entry

129 Suspected residential tenancy: entry under warrant

130 Powers of accompanying persons

131 Offences

132 Investigatory powers: interpretation

Amendments

133 Additional powers of seizure under Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001

134 Use by local housing authority of certain information

135 Investigatory powers under the Housing Act 2004

136 Client money protection schemes: investigatory powers of local authorities

Part 5
General

137 Interpretation

138 Crown application

139 Application to Parliament

140 Regulations

141 Power of Welsh Ministers to make consequential provision

142 Power of Scottish Ministers to make consequential provision

143 Power of Secretary of State to make consequential provision

144 Extent

145 Commencement

146 Existing assured tenancies to continue as section 4A assured tenancies

147 Fixed term assured tenancy and statutory periodic tenancy to be treated as single assured tenancy

148 Transitional provision

149 Short title

SCHEDULES

Schedule 1 Changes to grounds for possession

Schedule 2 Amendments relating to Chapter 1 of Part 1

Schedule 3 Amendments connected with landlord redress schemes

Schedule 4 Decent homes standard

Schedule 5 Financial penalties

Schedule 6 Transitional provision

Part 1Tenancy reform

Chapter 4Discrimination in the rental market: Wales

Supplementary

47Power of Welsh Ministers to protect others

(1)

If the Welsh Ministers are satisfied that—

(a)

a discriminatory rental practice exists in relation to dwellings that may be the subject of occupation contracts (“relevant rental dwellings”), and

(b)

because of that discriminatory rental practice, the victims of that practice are significantly less likely to obtain the grant, renewal or continuance of occupation contracts than other people,

the Welsh Ministers may make regulations prohibiting that discriminatory rental practice.

(2)

A “discriminatory rental practice” exists in relation to relevant rental dwellings if some or all relevant persons—

(a)

on the basis that people are members of a particular group, prevent those people from—

(i)

enquiring whether relevant rental dwellings are available for rent,

(ii)

accessing information about relevant rental dwellings,

(iii)

viewing relevant rental dwellings in order to consider whether to seek to rent them, or

(iv)

obtaining the grant, renewal or continuance of occupation contracts in respect of relevant rental dwellings, or

(b)

apply a provision, criterion or practice in order to make a particular group of people less likely to obtain the grant, renewal or continuance of occupation contracts of relevant rental dwellings than people not in that group.

(3)

The “victims” of a discriminatory rental practice are—

(a)

where a particular group of people are prevented from doing the things mentioned in subsection (2)(a), the people in that group;

(b)

where a provision, criterion or practice is applied in order to make a particular group of people less likely to obtain the grant, renewal or continuance of occupation contracts as mentioned in subsection (2)(b), the people in that group.

(4)

Regulations “prohibiting” a discriminatory rental practice are regulations relating to—

(a)

the discriminatory rental practice, and

(b)

the persons who are the victims of it,

which make provision corresponding to the relevant anti-discrimination legislation.

(5)

The relevant anti-discrimination legislation is—

(a)

Part 2A of the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, except for section 8C(b), and

but regulations under this section may make provision corresponding to the provision that may be made under section 8C(b) of the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019.

(6)

Before making regulations prohibiting a discriminatory rental practice, the Welsh Ministers must consult such of the following persons as the Welsh Ministers consider appropriate—

(a)

victims of the discriminatory rental practice or one or more representatives of such persons;

(b)

landlords and prospective landlords under occupation contracts or one or more representatives of such persons;

(c)

other landlords and prospective landlords under leases of premises that consist of or include a dwelling or one or more representatives of such persons;

(d)

mortgagees of dwellings or one or more representatives of such persons;

(e)

insurers of dwellings or one or more representatives of such persons;

(f)

local housing authorities or one or more representatives of local housing authorities.

(7)

For that purpose a “representative” of persons of a particular kind, or of local housing authorities, is a body or other person which appears to the Welsh Ministers to represent the interests of persons of that kind, or of local housing authorities.

(8)

Regulations under this section may amend, repeal or revoke provision made from time to time by or under the relevant anti-discrimination legislation.

(9)

In this section

benefits claimant” has the meaning given by section 8J of the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019;

local housing authority” means the council for a county or county borough in Wales;

occupation contract” has the same meaning as in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 (see section 7 of that Act);

relevant person” has the meaning given by section 8J of the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019.

48Power of Secretary of State to protect others

The Secretary of State may by regulations make provision that the Welsh Ministers could make under section 47 but for the limitation in section 49.

49Regulations

Regulations under section 8C of the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019 (as inserted by this Act) or section 47 of this Act may only make provision which would be within the legislative competence of Senedd Cymru if contained in an Act of the Senedd.