City councillors welcome better rights for renters

Lib Dem councillors in Milton Keynes have welcomed a major new law that will give thousands of renters across the city better rights and more security in their homes.

The new Renters’ Rights Act which received Royal Assent on 27 October will bring the biggest changes to private renting in a generation.

It will make renting fairer by putting an end to “no fault” evictions, protect tenants from unfair rent rises, and ensure homes are safe, secure, and well-maintained.

Under the new Act, almost all rented homes will move to open ended tenancies.

This means that tenants can choose when to move out, whilst landlords will only be able to end a tenancy for a valid reason.

Renters will also gain the right to challenge rent increases and landlords will have to advertise rent prices upfront, putting an end to bidding wars.

Also among the changes is greater protection against discrimination for those with children or on benefits.

The Act will also extend Awab’s Law which forces landlords to fix damp and mould quickly and the Decent Homes Standard to cover private and military housing, not just council homes.

Monkston Councillor Jenni Ferrans, said:

“This is fantastic news for more than 20,000 private renters across the city. Now tenants will have more protection, fairer rents, and more powers to hold rogue landlords to account. The City Council will soon have more power to take action on poor quality housing and unfair evictions, with tougher penalties for landlords who break the law. We’ve campaigned for years for safer, decent homes, and fairer letting arrangements and we’ll continue to push the Government to bring these changes in as soon as possible.”