New renters law - Labour backing the little guy

The renters environment has changed in the last few months. Since the arrival of the newly elected Labour government many have looked  for an improved standard of living and new perspective on life in the UK since Rishi Sunak's Tory government has been relinquished of its standing reign. Labour introduced a new renters law by which are expected to reshape renters rights and living conditions.

The key aspect of the new reform is to abolish Section 21 'no-fault' evictions. This is the option by which landlords can evict renters regardless of whether there is any breaking of the tenancy agreement. Renters therefore can be removed from the property at anytime (subject to weather their minimum tenancy term is still underway). This, therefore is designed to give renters improved living security within their homes and reduces concerns about arbitrary evictions.Labour are also looking to reduce the rate of 'exploitative rent' increases. This will involve strict rules  on how much and often rents can be raised giving power back to renters (Knight Frank, 2024), (Commercial Trust Ltd., 2024). 

Labour criticised the Conservatives efforts with housing and believe more power is needed for renters to balance the disparity between landlords and renters. This has been met positively by tenant groups, landlords and property developers have said it will incur large economic impacts as more rigid legislation will reduce investment and create a reduction in available rented houses and thereby actually driving up prices (Property118, 2024). 

Should this legislation go ahead is heavily dependent on whether Labour is able to accurately execute their plans on a balanced slate. On the one hand, it proposes a promising future for renters with affordable rent, prices no longer being hiked, and more readily available housing by small scale landlords selling properties as the new laws become to cumbersome. Conversely, it may cause a lack of investment in property development, lowering the total number of houses available, thereby driving up costs for developers, landlords and finally renters anyway. 

Finally, the questions begs. Can Labour actually improve the life of their 4.6 million renters in the UK (ONS, 2023)? Or will it catastrophically crash and burn the housing market further than it already has? 

With the paradigm power shift from Conservative to Labour, we hope to have a similar dynamic shift of power from Landlords to Renters, and give more security and living conditions for all parties without compromising affordability, investment and living standards for all involved.