Changes to residential tenancy rules for farm landlords
© Andrew S/Adobe Stock New residential tenancy legislation continues to be introduced across Great Britain, making the lettings process for rural landlords increasingly complex and demanding.
Many of the recent changes are designed to make the private rental market better, safer and fairer – a goal shared by responsible landlords who are already providing quality homes.
There is a wide array of new and evolving regulations within the sector – with the devolved regions all taking their own approach.
So keeping track of a landlord’s legal responsibilities, and ensuring compliance, can take considerable time and effort.
See also: Find out average farm rents where you live 2022
Some of the newer requirements that landlords should be aware of are as follows, along with some further changes that look to be on the way.
Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms
England
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 came into force on 1 October 2022.
The installation of at least one smoke alarm has been a requirement for each storey of a rented home since 2015.
Now all landlords are obliged to ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is installed in any room in their homes with a fixed combustion appliance.
This includes gas fires, wood burners and oil or gas boilers, but excludes gas cookers.
Landlords are legally obliged to repair or replace alarms once informed that they are faulty – although testing will remain the occupier’s responsibility.
Wales
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 will come into force on 1 December 2022.
It will contain a requirement for landlords to have a carbon monoxide detector fitted in each room that contains a gas, oil-fired combustion or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance.
Such detectors can be battery powered.
All landlords are also obliged to have a smoke alarm on each floor of a dwelling.
These must be connected to the electrical supply and interlinked to every other smoke alarm in the property – meaning if one alarm goes off, they all go off.
Scotland
Private landlords have been required to have interlinked smoke and heat alarms for some time. Where there is a carbon-fuelled appliance, there should also be a carbon monoxide detector.
Electrical safety checks
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act will also require landlords in Wales to make sure that electrical installations within a let property are inspected by a suitably qualified person every five years to ensure they meet electrical safety standards.
This is similar to legislation that has been in place for some time in England and Scotland.
© Gareth/Adobe Stock
Right to rent checks
Temporary rules covering right to rent checks, introduced in response to Covid-19, ended on 30 September 2022.
For the past couple of years, it has been possible for hard copy checks of identification documents to be conducted via a video call.
However, landlords or their agents are now required to meet the applicant in person to carry out the checks.
Energy efficiency standards
England and Wales
Minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (MEES) were first implemented in 2018.
They introduced the requirement for residential landlords to ensure any new tenancies have an energy performance certificate (EPC) with a minimum rating of E, unless the property qualifies for an exemption.
The government has since consulted on raising the minimum EPC rating to C for new residential tenancies from 2025 and for existing residential tenancies from 2028.
Although it is yet to announce the outcome of the consultation, it is widely expected that the rules will tighten.
Scotland
As part of its Heat and Buildings Strategy, the Scottish government has said it intends to introduce regulations requiring all private rented properties to reach a minimum standard equivalent to EPC C by 2025, at change of tenancy, with a backstop of 2028 for all remaining existing properties.
Other tenancy changes
Contract conversions in Wales
The Renting Homes (Wales) Act will bring other significant changes for landlords in Wales from 1 December 2022.
At that point, all existing tenancy agreements will be converted to “occupation contracts”, with private landlords using “standard” occupation contracts.
Where there is an existing fixed-term assured shorthold tenancy (AST), it will convert to a fixed-term standard occupation contract.
If it is a periodic AST, it will convert to a periodic standard contract.
Where there is a new occupier, landlords will have to provide a written statement of the contract within 14 days of the occupation date.
For converted contracts, they have up to six months from 1 December 2022 to provide an existing tenant or licensee with a written statement of the contract.
The new law also places an obligation on the landlord to ensure the dwelling is fit for human habitation, and a contract-holder will not be liable to pay rent for any period during which the property is deemed to be unfit.
Obligations include electrical safety as well as appropriate smoke and carbon monoxide detection.
Renters’ Reform Bill (England)
A Renters’ Reform Bill was included in the 2022 Queen’s Speech, with significant implications for landlords and tenants in England.
If it becomes law, landlords will no longer be able to serve Section 21 notices – known as “no-fault” evictions – unless they have valid grounds for repossession, under “reasonable circumstances”.
These grounds will be defined in law and include, for instance, cases of anti-social behaviour.
All tenants that would previously have had an assured tenancy or assured shorthold tenancy will be moved to a single system of periodic tenancies, which means no more fixed-term tenancies.
The tenant notice period will also be set at two months (currently usually one month), to allow landlords more time to find new tenants and minimise lost income.
At the same time, new grounds for possession will be introduced under Section 8 to enable landlords to regain possession of a rental property if they want to sell it or if they or a close family member wishes to move back in.
It is worth noting that Scotland has already abolished no-fault evictions.
The Renters’ Reform Bill also focuses on applying the Decent Homes Standard to privately rented homes to improve housing quality.
While meeting these standards should not be too onerous for most landlords, the main difference is that when kitchens and bathrooms reach a certain age (20 years for kitchens and 30 years for bathrooms) they should be replaced rather than repaired.
Help for Scottish residential tenants
On 6 October an eviction ban and freeze on rent increases announced on 6 September 2022 was made law through the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Bill.
This gives ministers temporary power to cap rents for private and social tenants, as well as for student accommodation, and is initially in force until the end of March next year.
The cap on rent rises is currently set at 0% and applies to any notices of rent increases from 6 September 2022 to at least 31 March 2023.
Notices served before 6 September 2022 can be enforced as normal and the rent freeze does not apply to new tenancies, only to mid-tenancy increases.
The rent cap can be varied while it is in force and the measures can be extended over two further six-month periods.
Except in limited circumstances, the bill prevents enforcement of eviction actions resulting from the cost of living crisis.
It also increases the damages for unlawful evictions to a maximum of 36 months’ worth of rent.
A new deal for tenants (Scotland)
Separately, the Scottish government closed its consultation on “A new deal for tenants” in April 2022.
This proposed reforms to the current grounds for repossession under Private Residential Tenancy agreements.
The consultation also sought views on a new national system of rent controls and a ban on the ending of tenancies during the winter.
Consideration is also given to a new Housing Standard covering aspects such as repairing and safety standards, minimum space standards, digital connectivity, and energy efficiency and heating standards.
The Scottish government published details of the responses to its consultation in August 2022 and intends to publish a final strategy setting out the way forward by the end of this year.