Upcoming legislation for landlords to be aware of

Renters’ Rights Bill

The Renters’ Rights Bill will be examined at Committee Stage in the House of Lords from 22^nd April. Amendments will be considered (of which there are pages and pages!), before it continues to Royal Assent, when the King formally passes the legislation.

Lords, landlords and letting agents alike have been talking about the bill for months, and it’ll likely finally come into force towards the end of 2025. If details can’t be agreed by 22^nd July, however, it’ll have to be started again from scratch.

Although specifics aren’t confirmed, some are surefire, some less certain. For example, abolishment of Section 21 and a crackdown on discrimination have always been high priority, while periodic tenancies and more serious punishments for poor standards will very probably come into play.

 Making Tax Digital

If you’re earning over £50,000 a year as a landlord or a sole trader, it’ll be mandatory to go digital for your tax returns from 6^th April 2026. You’ll be required to submit figures four times as often too, from annually to quarterly, and using compatible software.

The idea of Making Tax Digital is to make the process more accurate and efficient. The initiative will extend to those earning over £30,000 from April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2028.

 Crime and Policing Bill

Plans for the Crime and Policing Bill (currently at Committee Stage in the House of Commons) are to tackle serious violence, protect the public, and rebuild trust in the police.

The bill is industry-adjacent, with aspects overlapping into lettings – anti-social behaviour being one of them. By granting police greater powers to combat anti-social behaviour, we’ll hopefully see this improve both on the streets and in properties.

Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill

While the Leasehold and Freehold Act implemented a ban from May 2024 on the sale of new leasehold houses, the Leasehold and Commonhold Reform Bill aims to do the same for leasehold flats, which represent over 70% of leasehold properties, and 20% of all English housing stock.

A draft bill will be published in the second half of 2025, outlining, for example, that the right to extend a lease or buy a freehold should be strengthened, and that commonhold ownership should become default, getting rid of ground rents and giving owners control over maintenance.