Since our previous coverage of the Renters’ Rights Bill earlier this year in Issue 173, the legislation has continued to move through Parliament at pace, reaching a critical stage after its Third Reading in the House of Lords on 21 July.

During its course to Royal Assent, great consideration has been given to specific aspects of the Bill. The Committee Stage cemented significant tenant protections, and the Report Stage delivered technical refinements and enforcement clarifications, without major structural changes and thus has seen over 300 amendments proposed with the aim to find a balance between strengthening tenants' rights and ensuring practical enforceability. It is only right that the Bill is thoroughly scrutinised to ensure that the law does not have loopholes which will render it ineffective.

At the heart of the Bill remains the shift from fixed term to open ended periodic tenancies, designed to give renters more flexibility and security, especially in cases of poor conditions or sudden life changes. Concerns were raised regarding the operational disruption and therefore, a transitional phasing was agreed, which means the new rules will only apply once existing fixed terms expire. This is to ensure that the changes do not disrupt the housing market, allowing time for landlords and agents to adjust systems, review rent cycles and communicate with tenants.

Furthermore, a proposal was made that once the periodic tenancies were in force, the notice period should be reduced to one month to end a periodic tenancy. This was a main concern for victims of domestic abuse and emergency health and care situations. The proposal was, however, rejected for general tenancies, citing that most tenants must give two months’ notice, with discretionary exemption for specific hardship cases. This offers landlords greater stability and financial certainty, thus preventing against a high turnover and letting costs and ensuring they are aligning with lender expectations.

Although new regulations will prevent landlords from using unfair rent increases, by limiting rent increases to once in a 12 month period via the Section 13 process, a consideration was made towards Section 8 grounds for possession particularly, grounds for repeated rent arrears. This is to protect landlords from long-term repeat rent issues. A new mandatory ground for eviction has been suggested: if a tenant has been in arrears of at least two months' rent on three separate occasions over a three year period, the landlord can seek possession, even if the arrears have since been cleared. This prevents serial late payers from exploiting the system and gives landlords a tool to deal with persistent arrears without needing a single large debt.

While the Bill is tenant led, it has been amended to strengthen and expand the Section 8 grounds, including new provisions allowing landlords to evict tenants if they intend to sell the property or require it for themselves or close family members to move in. The Bill also lowers the threshold for anti-social behaviour evictions, removing the need to prove serious or ongoing disruption over long periods. Together, these changes aim to provide landlords with clear, fair and enforceable routes to possession, while ensuring that evictions are based on justifiable and evidenced grounds.

Consideration has been given to allow fixed-term tenancies for student housing, particularly for purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs). The concern was that the shift to open-ended periodic tenancies could disrupt annual lettings cycles, reduce housing availability for new students, and deter investment in the student rental sector. While these amendments were debated extensively, they were ultimately rejected, with the government maintaining that student tenants deserve the same flexibility and protections as others. However, ministers acknowledged the sector’s concerns and committed to monitoring the impact and potentially issuing targeted guidance or regulations in future. This means that student rentals will move to rolling periodic agreements, but the door remains open for further support or clarification down the line.

It is to be noted that amendments of increasing maximum penalties by the Local Council from £7,000 to £30,000 penalties and allowing small-scale landlords (fewer than five properties) to continue issuing Section 21 notices were rejected, with the government maintaining its position on abolishing fixed-term tenancies even for those landlords.

These recent amendments reflect a clear effort to balance the interests of landlords and tenants with a focus on security, fairness, and transparency, with added protections for landlords against rent abuse and tenancy instability. The Third Reading served as a tidy-up of all the amendments and clarified that the Bill is overdue and needs to be implemented. The Bill will now be passed back to the House of Commons for what is called the “ping pong” stage, which will see the Houses trying to agree on the final wording of the Bill before Royal Assent.