I wanted to take this opportunity to update councillors on some significant recent developments.
The Renters’ Rights Act delivers the Government’s manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting, including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.
The act will improve the current system for both the 11 million private renters and the 2.3 million landlords in England, giving renters greater security and stability, so they can stay in their homes for longer and build lives in their communities. It removes many barriers to renting – by ending unfair bidding wars, preventing landlords from demanding large amounts of rent in advance, and tackling rental discrimination.
Local councils will be equipped with strong new enforcement powers, and services such as the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Ombudsman and Database will help modernise the sector.
We will raise housing standards by applying the Decent Homes Standard to the PRS.
Good landlords have nothing to fear from these reforms. They will benefit from more straightforward regulation and the support of innovative new services.
Our implementation roadmap sets out when each of these measures will be brought into force, alongside information on how we are supporting the sector. I encourage you all to read this.
Last October, Phase 1 of Awaab’s Law came into force – named in memory of two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died tragically in 2020 as a result of a severe respiratory condition due to prolonged exposure to mould in his home.
The law means that all social landlords must repair all emergency hazards within 24 hours, and significant damp and mould hazards within fixed timescales. Regulations will be expanded over 2026 and 2027 to cover further hazards.
I’d like to thank everyone for all their work and support. I look forward to working with you in 2026.
- Guidance for landlords can be found on the Government website. We will also be consulting soon on the details of our approach to applying Awaab’s Law to the PRS.