Postponed last week due to alleged 'procedural issues' this major piece of legislative reform of the private rented sector is now set to be put before Parliament this week.

The tick tock of time's arrow is, however, immutably marching forward and if there is any further delay the bill will run into the wall of the parliamentary calendar. Next week Parliament is set to rise for its Whitsun recess and won't return until the week starting 5th June after which, if not introduced this week, there will be less than two months to introduce it before the summer recess in July.

Labour's Lisa Nandy, Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up and Housing, has already criticised last week's delay and said any further delay would bring into doubt the Government's "promises" to the four and a half million households living in private rented sector homes.

Meanwhile, Michael Gove, the Secretary of State charged with bringing the legislation into law, is having to dodge brickbats from his own side with Conservative MPs reported in The Telegraph [paywall] as saying "It's a disaster ...."

The main concern amongst PRS landlords is the banning of section 21 notices [Housing Act 1988] - so called 'no fault' evictions (which appear to have spiked in the run up to the legislation being introduced) - and the plan to require tenancy terminations to be achieved via a section 8 notice [Housing Act 1988] type process which will require landlords to give a reason for evicting their tenant to the County Court in order to regain possession of a property.

Currently, a landlord still needs to go to court, if the tenant does not leave, whether the tenant is served with a section 21 or a section 8 notice but the section 21 process is seen as far simpler and more efficient because it is pretty much a rubber stamp procedure (as long as the landlord's documentation is all in order). However, historically, this has made it open to abuse by too many in the landlord community. It's banning though is seen by many others operating in the sector as part of a "war on landlords" being waged by Mr Gove. In truth, the process hasn't been fit for purpose for at least a couple of decades. Only time will tell whether its replacement (whatever form that eventually takes) will be up to the task.

Meanwhile, the Government is proposing to take some HMO properties out of the mandatory licensing regime that regulates Houses in Multiple Occupation. In this case there will be no scrutiny by Parliament as the move is set to be done by Statutory Instrument rather than an Act of Parliament. The proposed secondary legislation is to be known as The Houses in Multiple Occupation (Asylum Seeker Accommodation) (England) Regulations 2023.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the new regulation says "The Home Office is seeking to house more asylum seekers across local authorities, and more quickly in appropriate and cost effective accommodation. Asylum Accommodation Service Contract (AASC) providers (who act on behalf of the Home Office .... ) have raised concerns that HMO licensing regulation is posing a barrier to acquiring such properties .... The Home Office is concerned that asylum seekers accommodated at taxpayer expense should not be entitled to more spacious accommodation than the national standard .... The concern is that more generous standards .... limit supply by restricting the number of people that can be housed in each property .... "

The regulation will exempt HMO accommodation for asylum seekers which begins use as such between the date the regulation comes into force and 30th June 2024. These properties will be exempt from licensing for two years. Local authorities will not be able to charge licensing fees for any such properties during that two year period and the Home Office accepts "other local authority services" may be impacted and "will provide funding to local authorities in recognition of the costs associated with accommodating asylum seekers in their area". Further, "The legislation will temporarily exempt landlords (predominantly operating as small businesses) who provide accommodation for asylum seekers from licensing their properties and paying the associated fees".

A fuller analysis of the proposal, by Dean Underwood and Jack Barber of Cornerstone Barristers can be found be found here on the Local Government Lawyer webpage