2020 – a lot has changed in the private rented sector this year!
Well, what a year it’s been! For obvious reasons 2020 will perhaps not be a year that we’ll remember fondly – but there are always some positives to come out of adversity.
We are immensely proud of the way our staff have been able to keep going as a business through the pandemic, continuing to help people move home and move forwards with their lives.
That said, the contribution we have made pales into insignificance compared to the heroic efforts of the NHS. From everyone at Davies White & Perry, we’d like to offer a huge and heartfelt thank you to all NHS Staff and Key Workers.
As Christmas nears, it’s often seen as a time for reflection, but this year, I am sure most people are rather looking forward to 2021 with the positive news of the vaccination programme hopefully making the new normal a bit more like the old normal.
Much has changed over this year with regards to lettings legislation, some of it permanent and some of it ‘earmarked’ at least as temporary in reaction to the impact of Covid-19. As such, I think it’s appropriate to cover some of the key areas where we’re likely to see changes.
How To Rent Guide – Updated
Firstly, something the Government has just snuck into 2020 on the 10 December is an updated version of the ‘How To Rent Guide’. Nothing too exciting in there really, other than updated content around electrical safety requirements following The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 coming into force in June this year.
Perhaps the biggest change referenced in the updated guide is the Government’s commitment to removing Section 21 notices and with it the ‘no fault’ eviction process. This will mean a big change to the private rental sector, but it’s also likely to mean a big change to the current fault-based eviction process. One thing is for sure, it’s a hot topic that all landlords will want to keep up to date with, and as yet there is no known timeframe for its removal.
Why are the changes to the ‘How to Rent Guide’ important? Well, landlords have an obligation to provide the most recent version of the guide to their tenants when a new tenancy starts and also on renewal of tenancy if the guide has been updated since it was last given to the tenants. If you manage your own tenancy or have properties with other agents, keep in mind that a section 21 notice (while it still exists!) won’t be valid if the correct paperwork hasn’t been served on the tenants – including this updated ‘How to Rent Guide’.
Electrical Safety
As mentioned already, The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 became law in June 2020. This means that all new tenancies, renewed tenancies or tenancies that became Periodic Tenancies (continued past the end of a fixed term without an official renewal) are required to have had an Electrical Safety Inspection completed and any remedial work identified completed within 28 days.
Having been in place now for almost six months, a large number of tenancies have had to comply with the new regulations, but that still leaves a sizeable amount that will need to be compliant before the 1 April 2021, when ALL tenancies must meet the new regulations. Whilst there are calls to extend this deadline, there are no signs of it changing at the moment.
Legislation changes are a bit like busses sometimes and the same is true for the end dates for the temporary changes we have seen brought in during the Pandemic. The day before the backstop date for Electrical Safety we have the end, or possibly more accurately, a review date for two other things:
Notice Periods
One of the most significant changes over the pandemic has been to the notice periods required for a landlord to end a tenancy. There are more complexities, but as a general rule of thumb they changed from 2 to 3 months, then from 3 to 6 months. 31 March 2021 is also the review date on this – it’s impossible to say what will happen, but it’s quite possible that the notice period will be reduced once more – if this happens it will give some landlords interesting scenarios where they will have already served notice on their tenants giving 6 months and they may be able to serve notice again to end the tenancy sooner!
Consultations
The open consultation on Energy Efficiency In Rental properties closes at the end of December – and if you are interested, you can still have your say here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-energy-performance-of-privately-rented-homes
It is likely that this consultation with result in a change, whereby the lowest EPC rating that all rental properties will be required to meet, will be raised from either an E to D or E to C (unless they can obtain a valid exemption from this law). This will mean landlords having to spend money to improve the energy efficiency of their properties – so it is definitely worth seeing if you can take advantage of the Green Home Grant scheme https://www.simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/pages/green-homes-grant
Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Another consultation which is likely to take the form of new legislation in 2021. This is primarily aimed at social housing, but is looking to fill in some gaps to improve safety in both private rental and in owner occupied properties.
These changes are likely to be that Carbon Monoxide alarms will be required in rooms where there are fixed combustion appliances (except gas cookers). The consultation also looks to clarify the correct placement of alarms, as well as the minimum standards for Carbon Monoxide alarms.
You can read more and have your say here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/domestic-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms/domestic-smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-proposals-to-extend-regulations
If you have any questions about any of the above – our rental experts will be more than happy to help you out with advice and guidance. Please do call, we are all ears and here to help!
