I have been asked a number of times whether the Renter’s (Reform) Bill and the newer Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will actually come into law and into force during 2024. As always the answer to this question is: “it depends”.

So what are the Bills that need to get through for the property sector?

The Renters (Reform) Bill (RRB) makes substantial reforms to the regime for shorter tenancies created by the Housing Act 1988, most notably in getting rid of s21 evictions and assured shorthold tenancies. However, it is doing a great deal more than that, especially with the vast number of changes made in committee stage. There is the property portal, a landlord registration scheme by another name, a requirement for landlords to join a redress scheme, the introduction of the Decent Homes Standard, and restrictions on refusing to let to tenants with pets, children or who are on benefits. There is a lot more besides.

For longer tenancies there is the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill (LFRB). This controversially will reduce ground rents for long leases to effectively nothing and will make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to extend their leases or buy the freehold.

But these are not the only bills before Parliament by any means. There are bills dealing with the personal data, with arbitration, and with the media. Then there are the big flagship bills about immigration and criminal justice. Along with those there is the budget which was announced over Christmas for early March and which will need a Finance Bill. Then there is the usual run of parliamentary business to deal with alongside these Bills. And all of this must happen before an election is called because as soon as that happens all of this will come to an end and anything which has not passed will disappear. On top of this there have already been considerable delays. The government stalled in getting started on the RRB and the LFRB took some time to be introduced into Parliament. The upshot of this is that neither Bill has finished its journey through the House of Commons, and probably will not be done until the end of January at best. They then need to progress into the House of Lords and move through those stages which is hardly likely to be a rapid process!

Added to this is the increasingly critical factor of an upcoming general election. I am not going to join in the speculation of when this is actually going to be. But there are generally three points in time which are likely to see an election. That is late May 2024, October 2024, and January 2025. Which of these ends up being the election date is uncertain but it will be critical in determining whether and how much of the RRB and LFRB are in effect. If the government goes with an election in May then it is unlikely that the LFRB will be passed through Parliament and so it will fall. A May date will also make the RRB doubtful but it could be rushed through. In both cases if these Bills were hurried through Parliament to make a May date they will do little more than be passed into law. They are unlikely to be properly brought into force and none of the regulations needed to bring them into force and to add the necessary detail to them are likely to be passed. That will be a job for the next government.

If an October date is picked then it is likely that both Bills will make it through Parliament. But only some of the implementing regulations are likely to be passed. So, looking at the RRB, the regulations to get rid of s21 are likely to have been passed and the timeline for its ending will be set. But it is unlikely that the more complex regulations required for things such as the Decent Homes Standard will make it. All of this will be for the next government.

If it were to be a January date it is unlikely that a great deal more will occur. More regulations might be brought into effect but it is more likely that a longer election campaign will be fought and so not a lot else will be done.

In any event a substantial amount of the implementation of these Bills are likely to be for the next government. Even if regulations are made the next government could remake those regulations to operate the Bills in a slightly different way. This is without stating the obvious fact that the next government might be very different in terms of its ideology and attitude to the current one!

Either way the uncertainty in the property sector from the legal side is set to continue into 2024, and most likely beyond that.