Summary
The Renters' Rights Bill is the Labour government's replacement for the Renters (Reform) Bill, which fell when the 2024 general election was called before it completed its passage through Parliament. It was reintroduced in September 2024 and carries over most of the substance of the earlier bill, with some provisions strengthened — most significantly a firm commitment to abolish Section 21 "no-fault" evictions in one go, rather than the staged approach floated previously.
For a tradesperson, this isn't really landlord-and-tenant law — it's a shift in who is legally required to keep a rented home in good repair, how quickly, and how that gets proven. Two strands matter most on site: first, the private rented sector is being pulled into the same Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law hazard-response regime that has applied to social housing since 2023–2024, which is a significant volume driver for heating, insulation, damp, and general repair work. Second, the tenancy structure itself changes — assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) with a fixed term disappear in favour of open-ended periodic tenancies, which changes how landlords plan and instruct work around a property that no longer has a predictable "between tenants" gap.
A common misconception among landlords (and by extension, the tradespeople they instruct) is that this is purely a tenant-rights bill with no bearing on repair obligations. It isn't. The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law elements are separate legal duties layered on top of existing gas safety, electrical safety, and smoke/CO alarm requirements that already apply to the PRS (see landlord certificates). Landlords who have previously treated non-urgent repairs as discretionary will increasingly find themselves with statutory timescales to meet, and a private-landlord Ombudsman scheme to answer to if they don't.
Key Facts
- Section 21 abolition — removes "no-fault" repossession under the Housing Act 1988 s.21; landlords must use a Section 8 ground to regain possession, all of which require a stated reason
- End of assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) — new tenancies move to a single system of periodic assured tenancies with no fixed end date; existing ASTs convert on commencement ****
- Reformed Section 8 grounds — includes new/amended grounds for landlord or family moving in, and for sale of the property, each requiring longer notice periods than before ****
- Decent Homes Standard extended to the PRS — previously a social-housing-only benchmark (as updated from the 2006 standard); requires freedom from Category 1 HHSRS hazards, reasonable state of repair, reasonably modern facilities, and effective insulation/heating
- Awaab's Law extended to private rented homes — statutory timescales to investigate and fix reported hazards, starting with damp and mould, mirroring the regime introduced for social housing under the Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 (see awaabs law damp mould social housing)
- Rent bidding ban — landlords/agents must publish an asking rent and cannot solicit or accept offers above it
- Right to request a pet — landlords cannot unreasonably refuse a tenant's request to keep a pet; may require pet damage insurance
- Private Rented Sector Database — a mandatory landlord registration scheme is being introduced alongside the reforms
- Mandatory Ombudsman scheme — all private landlords in the PRS will be required to join a redress scheme, giving tenants (and by extension, repair disputes) a formal escalation route outside the courts
- Rent increases limited to once per year via a Section 13 notice, with tribunal reference capped at the landlord's original asking figure ****
- Existing landlord duties are unchanged and still apply — annual Gas Safety Certificate (CP12), 5-yearly EICR under the Electrical Safety Standards (PRS) Regulations 2020, smoke alarm on every storey and CO alarm in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance (see gas safety certificate, electrical installation condition report)
- MEES minimum EPC band for letting remains a separate, existing duty (currently band E, with proposals to tighten to band C by 2030 under a different piece of legislation) — see mees regulations
- Higher volume of compliance-driven repair work expected, not more discretionary refurbishment — this is a floor-raising exercise, not a general uplift in landlord spending
Quick Reference Table
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Try squote free →| Old regime (pre-reform) | New regime (Renters' Rights Bill) | Trade impact |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed-term AST, ends on a set date | Rolling periodic tenancy, no fixed end | No predictable "void period" window for bigger jobs between tenants |
| Section 21 no-fault notice, 2 months | Section 8 grounds only, reason required, longer notice for sale/moving-in grounds | Landlord-instructed vacant possession work needs to be planned around the ground being used |
| Decent Homes Standard: social housing only | Decent Homes Standard: PRS + social housing | More landlord-instructed heating, insulation, and repair work in private lets |
| Awaab's Law timescales: social housing only | Awaab's Law timescales: PRS + social housing | Damp/mould call-outs move onto a statutory clock, similar to housing association work now |
| No mandatory PRS ombudsman | Mandatory PRS ombudsman | Undocumented verbal instructions carry more comeback risk for landlords, and by extension pressure to get written scopes and dated evidence from contractors |
| No landlord database | Mandatory PRS database | Compliance status becomes more visible/checkable, indirectly raising demand for up-to-date certificates |
Detailed Guidance
Access to the property for works
Under the old fixed-term AST system, many landlords scheduled non-essential works (kitchen refits, redecoration, bathroom refurbishment) for the gap between one tenancy ending and the next beginning. With periodic tenancies removing that fixed end date, there is no guaranteed vacant window unless the landlord actively regains possession under a Section 8 ground. In practice this means:
- More work will need to be carried out with the tenant in situ, which has knock-on effects for access windows, protecting occupied rooms, and working hours — build this into quotes and site logistics discussions rather than assuming a clear building.
- The tenancy agreement (not the old fixed-term structure) still governs the landlord's right of entry — typically 24 hours' written notice for non-emergency access, with emergency access (gas leak, burst pipe, electrical fault) treated separately. This hasn't changed, but landlords who are used to relying on "we'll do it when the tenant moves out" will need to adjust.
- Where a landlord is using a sale or moving-in ground to regain possession specifically to carry out works, get the ground and notice period confirmed in writing before committing to a start date — the reformed grounds carry restrictions on how soon the landlord can re-let or on misuse penalties ****.
Decent Homes Standard: what it pulls into scope
The Decent Homes Standard test has four limbs, and extending it to the PRS creates demand across several trades:
- Free of Category 1 HHSRS hazards — the same Housing Health and Safety Rating System hazards already assessed in disrepair claims: excess cold, damp and mould, fall hazards, electrical hazards, fire risk. This overlaps directly with damp diagnosis and remediation work (see condensation vs leak diagnosis and mould treatment and prevention).
- Reasonable state of repair — structural elements, windows, roof.
- Reasonably modern facilities — kitchen and bathroom age/layout thresholds; this is the limb most likely to drive kitchen and bathroom refurbishment instructions in older private lets.
- Effective insulation and heating — this is where central heating installation/replacement, loft and cavity wall insulation, and heating controls upgrades (see wet ufh controls, cavity wall insulation types) become landlord-driven rather than tenant-requested.
Awaab's Law timescales in a private-let context
Awaab's Law imposes fixed statutory windows to investigate a reported hazard and then to complete repairs, starting with damp and mould and expanding to other hazards over time under secondary legislation. Housing association and council-instructed trades have been working to these timescales since the phased rollout began; the extension to private landlords brings the same discipline (and the same paper trail requirements — dated photos, investigation reports, completion confirmation) into PRS instructions. ****.
What doesn't change
It's worth being explicit with landlord clients about what this bill does not touch, because it's easy to conflate everything as "new rules":
- Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 duties (annual CP12) are unchanged.
- The Electrical Safety Standards (PRS) Regulations 2020 (5-yearly EICR) are unchanged.
- Smoke and CO Alarm (England) Regulations duties are unchanged.
- MEES minimum EPC band requirements are a separate legislative track (see mees regulations) and are not part of this bill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this mean I need to change how I invoice or quote for landlord jobs?
Not structurally, but it raises the value of a clear, dated, written scope of work — especially for anything that could later be scrutinised through the new Ombudsman scheme or an Awaab's Law investigation timeline. Landlords who previously accepted verbal instructions and informal completion sign-off are more likely to want a documented trail now that they're answerable to a statutory redress body.
Will this create more work, or just change who's liable for what?
Both. The Decent Homes Standard and Awaab's Law extensions genuinely widen the pool of properties where heating, insulation, and damp work becomes a landlord obligation rather than a discretionary spend — that's real volume, particularly in the lower end of the private rented stock that has historically had the least investment. But it's compliance-driven work, not general refurbishment spend; don't expect a broad uplift in optional upgrades.
Does the end of fixed-term tenancies affect how I schedule bigger jobs?
Yes, indirectly. Without a guaranteed vacant period between tenancies, landlords planning a full refurbishment increasingly need to either use a Section 8 ground to regain possession or negotiate access with a sitting tenant. Build in a conversation early about which route the landlord is taking before you commit a firm start date.
Is Right to Rent immigration checking affected by this bill?
Right to Rent checks are a separate legal duty on landlords/agents under different legislation and are not part of this bill's scope. ****.
Regulations & Standards
Renters' Rights Bill — abolishes Section 21, ends assured shorthold tenancies, reforms Section 8 grounds, introduces mandatory PRS Ombudsman and landlord database ****
Housing Act 1988 (as amended) — underlying tenancy law framework; Section 21 and Section 8 possession routes
Decent Homes Standard — extended from social housing to the private rented sector under this reform programme
Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023 — origin of Awaab's Law; extended to the PRS under the Renters' Rights Bill
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 — unchanged annual landlord gas safety duty
Electrical Safety Standards (Private Rented Property) (England) Regulations 2020 — unchanged 5-yearly EICR duty
Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) — hazard assessment framework referenced by the Decent Homes Standard
GOV.UK — Renters' Rights Bill — official bill documents and progress through Parliament
GOV.UK — Guide to Awaab's Law — background on the social housing hazard-response regime being extended to the PRS
Shelter — Renters' Rights Bill guidance — tenant-facing explainer, useful for understanding the practical effect landlords will be navigating
GOV.UK — Decent Homes Standard — the four-limb standard being extended to the private rented sector
landlord certificates — existing landlord certificate obligations (CP12, EICR, EPC, alarms) that remain unchanged alongside this reform
awaabs law damp mould social housing — the statutory damp/mould investigation and repair timescales this bill extends into the private rented sector
mees regulations — the separate EPC minimum-band regime for rented properties, not part of this bill
quoting for landlords and letting agents — practical guidance on quoting and documenting work for landlord and letting-agent clients