The Renters’ Rights Bill, external – which must be approved by MPs and peers – will ban section 21 evictions in England, and introduce a new system for evicting tenants where the landlord has grounds for asking them to leave.
If the bill becomes law, new tenants will have a 12-month “protected period” where they can’t be evicted if the landlord wants to move in or sell the property.
After this period, the landlord will have to give them four months’ notice to leave.
The landlord will still be able to reclaim the property for other reasons, external, such as rent arrears or criminal behaviour.
Once the protected period ends, tenancies will move to what the government calls “a periodic basis”, with no fixed end date. Landlords will have to provide a specific reason and give notice to end a tenancy.
When the new system is implemented, all existing tenancies – including rolling ones – will convert to the new system.
Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook hopes the changes will take effect before summer 2025.
A new system for private providers of social housing will be introduced separately.