A top property lawyer has warned that a key clause in the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill — the same rule that led to homelessness minister Rushanara Ali’s resignation — could choke the supply of rental homes and leave properties standing empty for months.
David Smith, Property Litigation Partner at London law firm Spector Constant & Williams, says the bill’s “protected interval” — stopping landlords from re-letting for up to a year after certain evictions — will “deprive renters of much-needed housing.”
RENT ROW RESIGNATION
Ali stepped down after giving four tenants notice to quit from her four-bedroom home near the Olympic Park, then re-advertising it within weeks at £700 more per month — jumping from £3,300 to £4,000 a month.
Industry bodies the NRLA and Propertymark have already blasted the clause, warning it will hurt both landlords and tenants by forcing perfectly lettable homes to sit empty.
HOMES LEFT VACANT
Smith stressed that reporting on the rule has been “not entirely accurate” and that the proposed 12-month ban — not six months — would apply if landlords evict to sell. He added that roughly one in four homes served notice to sell never actually change hands, instead returning to the rental market.
“Under the new rules, such homes would have to sit empty for a year, further restricting supply and depriving renters of much-needed housing,” he said, warning that the bill could “unintentionally reduce the availability of rental properties” at a time of record demand.