KING’S SPEECH: What the proposed laws mean for the residential property market

Millions of homeowners, landlords and tenants will be affected by legislative plans unveiled by King Charles at the State Opening of Parliament.

The monarch read out a long list of bills proposed by the new government including measures to stimulate house building and reform aspects of property law.

Rent reform

The Renters’ Rights Bill is designed to end the practice of ‘no fault’ evictions that was introduced under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

It will also bring in other rights and protections such as giving tenants more scope to challenge rent increases.

Landlords will have no right to refuse a tenant’s reasonable request to keep a pet, although they will be allowed to demand insurance to cover potential pet damage.

The bill will also set clear legal expectations around the timescales that private sector landlords must observe when making homes safe where there are serious hazards such as damp and mould, a step known as Awaab’s Law.

Ministers want the bill to apply a ‘decent homes standard’ to the private rented sector and they plan to introduce a new digital national database of landlords and their properties.

Leasehold and commonhold

Under separate legislative plans for leasehold and commonhold reform, homeowners will have greater rights and protections over homes governed by the centuries-old leasehold system.

These include addressing the issue of ‘unregulated and unaffordable’ ground rents and the removal of the risk of forfeiture as a means of enforcing compliance with a lease agreement.

Homebuilding

On the Planning and Infrastructure bill, the King said the aim of his Ministers was to ‘get Britain building, including through planning reform, as they seek to accelerate the delivery of high-quality infrastructure and housing’.

The bill is designed to make improvements to the planning system at a local level, modernising planning committees and increasing local planning authorities’ capacity to speed up and improve delivery.

Finding the balance

We understand and support the government’s aim of raising standards in the private rented sector.

At the same time, we urge Ministers to recognise and not undermine the vital role of responsible landlords and agents in providing safe and secure homes for millions of people through a competitive rental market.

With planning reform, we welcome any moves that will unlock the widely acknowledged logjams facing developers and investors while ensuring a changed system is workable and sustainable.

As the various legislative plans go through their Parliamentary scrutiny, we encourage all involved to find the right balance for everyone’s benefit.

We look forward to hearing more detail on the contents of the various bills as they progress.

If you are a homeowner, landlord, tenant or prospective seller or buyer, and want to discuss a property question, we’re here to help. Contact us on 02392 826731 or visit www.chinneckshaw.co.uk.

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