By The Renters’ Rights Bill is no longer just talk, it’s becoming a reality. For landlords, investors, and property professionals, this marks one of the most significant shifts in the UK’s private rental sector (PRS). With the topic dominating conversations and education over the last few years, there’s one certain thing: you need to be ready to start implementing the changes.
The recent episode of UK Property News Episode 8, brought to you by the National Landlord Investment Show and hosted by Ian Collins (Talk TV), drills down into the imminent reality of the Renters’ Rights Bill with expert guests Susie Crolla, GLM, and former Housing Minister Eddie Hughes. The episode follows a consistent theme of education since the launch of UK Property News.
Part 1 with Susie Crolla, MD of Guild Letting & Management
The episode starts with an introduction by Tracey Hanbury, Co-founder & Director of the National Landlord Investment Show, and swiftly moves over to Ian Collins and the first guest, Susie Crolla, MD of Guild Letting & Management. With Susie being in the UK property sector for 20 years, she admits she’s seen a lot of change, but notes the upcoming Renters’ Rights Bill as the “most significant” change she’s seen in her career. Her keywords are “preparedness” and “being ready” when it comes to the Bill becoming an act and law.
Susie starts her interview by saying that whilst there’s been a wealth of information on the topic of the Renters’ Rights Bill over the last 12 months, and even prior to this, landlords now want to get a move on and do what they need to do.
Ian then proceeds to interview Susie, covering the following topics: Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), the new Landlord Database, the penalties/fines landlords could face under the new changes, landlords’ responsibilities under the Decent Homes Standard, and the question of tenants with pets. All essential changes and points of discussion within the Renters’ Rights Bill.
While talking about the Landlord Database, Susie, although not coining the phrase, suggests landlords need to be “database ready,” simply meaning all landlords, whether portfolio, accidental, small, or large, need to ensure their paperwork is ready for the database, as the fines can be “severe.”
Moving on to the talks about the Decent Homes Standard, she offers a fair and cautious warning:
“I would hope the people listening to this discussion do not have any Category 1 hazards in their property.”
Part 2 with Eddie Hughes, Former Housing Minister
Part 2 then moves on to feature Eddie Hughes, former MP for Walsall North and former Housing Minister, who was a key figure in introducing the Renters’ Rights Bill under a Conservative government. Ian mentions that, as always, there is “controversy with change,” and even more surprisingly, that this particular reform was introduced by a Conservative government.
Ian kicks off Part 2 with the first question: “What was the idea or motivation behind the Renters’ Rights Bill?” Eddie states that whilst it was driven by a need to offer something to younger people, the overall, overriding objective of the Renters’ Rights Bill was to “drive up the quality of accommodation” in a post-Grenfell world.
When Ian dives into the current state of the private rental sector, he asks whether there was a sense that “government intervention was really the way to make a path for a fairer system,” and notes how the rental sector continues to grow—despite a Conservative government typically avoiding direct involvement in managing it.
Eddie responds by stating that there was a two-fold rationale behind introducing the bill: it was both a response to real problems within the sector and an attempt to tackle “the minority of cases of bad landlords that hit the headlines.” He also reflects on the question of what the right size of the private rented sector should be, stating:
“The Conservative Party wouldn’t have been concerned if there had been some shrinkage in the private rented sector, if what that meant was that some of the worst landlords got squeezed out, and perhaps those properties were taken over by more professional landlords.”
Ian then moved on to discuss the cautious approach governments must take when dealing with the uk private rented sector and asks Eddie for his insights into how to introduce a bill that affects it. In response, Eddie quotes a popular civil service phrasem that the goal is to “strike the balance,” ensuring the impact doesn’t outweigh the benefits. He notes that this was the guiding principle he adopted when working on the Renters’ Rights Bill.
The final question Ian poses is: “What’s your view on where the bill is now, compared to where it was when you left office?”
Eddie responds positively, stating he is a fan of Matthew Pennycook, the current Minister for Housing under the Labour government. He adds that the direction of the Renters’ Rights Bill is very much a continuation of what the Conservative government began and that it is “generally useful and to be welcomed.”
Eddie concludes by saying there is a need for “more maturity as politicians, not to be tribal and partisan all the time, but to look at what’s to be endorsed.”
Watch the latest episode of UK Property News here.
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