The Renters Rights Bill is getting its second reading this afternoon in the House of Commons and amongst its proposals are plans to prohibit landlords from receiving multiple months of rent in advance.
The bill aims to improve standards and security for renters through banning no-fault evictions which allow landlords to evict a tenant without giving a reason.
However Labour MP Paula Barker‘s amendment is also proposing that landlords should be limited in how much they can hike rents to “keep renters in their homes”.
“The housing crisis needs immediate action. In the long term, building more social and affordable housing will help to address the emergency – but to help renters who are struggling right now, a measure to limit rent rises would stop landlords from using unaffordable rent hikes as de facto no-fault evictions,” said Barker
The bill will also apply the Decent Homes Standard to the private rented sector for the first time.
Average private rents in England lifted by 9.3% in the 12 months to November, outstripping wage growth of 5.4%, according to the latest National Office of Statistics data.
