The Leader of Worcester City Council has welcomed news that the Government is providing £70,746 funding to the authority to support its role in enforcing new rights for renters.
New rules for renters and their landlords come into force on Friday 1 May, including a ban on so-called “no fault” evictions and rental bidding, and measures to stop landlords discriminating against tenants on benefits or who have children.
These are all part of the first phase of the new Renters’ Rights Act, which requires councils to take action against landlords and their agents who do not follow the new rules.
Councillor Lynn Denham, Leader of Worcester City Council, said: “The Renters’ Rights Act marks a major change to private renting across the country, giving tenants protection from unlawful eviction, early rent rises, being outbid on a property and many other bad practices.
“The City Council has a vital role to play in making the Act work, so this new funding is very welcome.
“It means we can have more housing officers in place to advise and support both renters and landlords to understand the new rights that tenants now have. It will also assist us in taking enforcement action against landlords who break the rules.”
The Renters’ Rights Act is coming into force over three phases.
From Friday 1 May:
- Landlords cannot ask for any payment before a tenancy agreement has been signed; once an agreement is signed they cannot ask for more than one month’s rent payment
- Tenants can ask to keep a pet, and their landlord must provide a reason if they refuse
- Landlords cannot discriminate against a tenant because of one of the protected characteristics in the Equality Act; they cannot refuse to rent a property to a tenant who is on benefits or has children
- A landlord cannot accept or encourage offers on a property above the advertised rent
- Landlords can only increase the rent on a property once a year and not in the first year of a new tenancy; they must give at least two months’ notice of any rent rise
- Landlords have to give a reason for evicting a tenant; “no fault” evictions are no longer legal.
Phase two, in late 2026, will see the introduction of a new Ombudsman to support tenants and landlords to resolve disputes more quickly, alongside a new private rented sector database to provide councils with better quality data to support their enforcement duties.
Phase three will extend Awaab’s Law to require private landlords to investigate and fix severe damp, mould and emergency hazards in their properties. The Government is consulting on the timescale for this phase. This duty already applies to social landlords.
