The bill was introduced by Levelling Up, Communities and Housing Secretary Michael Gove after the private rented sector white paper was published in June 2022. The main measure set out within the bill is the banning of section 21 “no fault” evictions; the practice most often used by student landlords to end tenancies in time for the next academic year. The intended impact of this on the student housing market is that landlords will begin to move away from periodic agreements and allow for longer-term tenancies, also seeking to end the cyclical nature of rented student accommodation, but it may also dissuade landlords from renting to students due to eviction difficulties. This would potentially give students the ability to settle in their community and give international students more housing security.
Apart from the banning of “no fault” evictions, the bill also legislates for stronger protections against excessive above-market rent hikes, introducing a Private Rented Sector Ombudsman, creating a Privately Rented Property Portal to help landlords better understand their legal obligations to tenants and give tenants the right to request a pet in a property. Moreover, nearly a quarter of private rented accommodation does not meet basic decency standards, as evidenced in a number of high-profile deaths in recent years and the bill will seek to address these concerns. During the King’s speech the government also announced an enshrinement of rights for student landlords to ensure that properties can be ready for the new academic year.
Students have told The Courier of horrible conditions and inattentive landlords
Speaking about their experiences of private rented accommodation, students have told The Courier of horrible conditions and inattentive landlords. One student described their flat in Jesmond as being unclean on move in day, having a rat infestation and an excessive number of dead insects being present throughout. They had bathroom issues that led to vegetation growth and a separate issue that caused faecal matter to flow into the bathtub when flushing the toilet. When asked to fix the problems the landlord obfuscated and delayed, some of these issues took months to be fully rectified. Another student said that their flat was found to have a pneumonia presence that forced them to be moved into a nearby Airbnb. Finally, a third student spoke of a belligerent landlord who overcharged their tenants for anything and everything, in one case charging £150 collectively for a stool that retails for only £30.
NUSU President Yaseen Ali recently produced a video for students who are having issues finding housing amid the crisis, signposting them to the NUSU website and the Student Advice Centre should they require support.
The “Renters’ Reform Coalition”, an advocacy group including charities such as Shelter and Crisis said that the bill will “rebalance the rights and responsibilities of renters and landlords” and will “drive up standards”. The National Union of Students have also welcomed the new reforms. They said that, as a part of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, they are pleased for the “significant step forward” in renters’ protections. They go on to suggest that the end to Section 21 will “make it easier for [students] to demand improvements to poor quality homes”.
However, the bill does not have universal support, NUSU advisor Ruth Gibson recently spoke to the BBC and questioned the legislation, saying that the plans could “cause issues for tenants and landlords”. Ms Gibson said that the main focus of her concerns was student’s giving notice of intent to vacate a property, saying that, under the new plans “no one tenant can give notice for the full house” and “ there is a risk when there is inter-tenant friction” that cause tenancies to be abruptly ended. She ended by saying that “this looks very chaotic from a student perspective”.
When asked for comment on both the bill itself and reaction to Ms Gibson’s comments to the BBC, NUSU issued the following statement: “We are aware that some students are finding it difficult to secure accommodation in the city due to a shortage of rented accommodation and we are concerned that this problem will escalate next year. We know that housing is becoming a major concern for our students and that it is causing additional worry and anxiety. We are aware there are some concerns about the Renters Reform Bill possibly making even less properties available to students, but this has not yet been confirmed. We will continue to monitor the progress of the Bill and how it might impact student rental contracts. The BBC article from October highlighted what we see as some welcome reforms but also some areas that need greater clarity or may be of particular concern in respect of student rentals. The Bill is still in the early days of development and there is a possibility that aspects may change so we will now wait until it progresses through Parliament to comment further.”