Theresa May has effectively torn up the Conservative Party Manifesto in the 2017 Queen’s Speech. Previous high-profile bills, including policies on fox hunting, scrapping school dinners, and grammar schools, were excluded from the Queen’s Speech, but the Draft Tenant’s Fees Bill has made its way in.
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The New Tenant’s Fees Bill introduced in Queen’s Speech
The new Tenant’s Fees Bill is designed to introduce “fairness and transparency in the housing market”. The proposal to ban letting agent fees was first mentioned in Philip Hammond’s Autumn Statement last year, but now landlords are also being prevented from charging anything other than rent as a condition of their tenancy agreement. However, the new rules will only apply to tenancies in England.
Tenant’s Groups Delighted by Fees Ban
Tenant pressure groups are delighted by the inclusion of the draft bill.
“This is progress on renters’ rights and the benefits will be directly felt by millions of renters in this country. However, there’s still more to be done and neither Brexit nor May’s minority government should get in the way of that,” said Vicky Spratt, the instigator of a campaign to ban letting agent fees.
“We need genuinely affordable rents and secure tenure for renters, the cost of renting is way out of line with wages and the stresses this puts on people are enormous.”
Measures to Help Tenants Recover Unlawful Fees
The Bill also includes measures to enable tenants to recover unlawful fees that have been charged by letting agents and landlords.
Read more about the Tenants Fee Bill in our ultimate landlord guide:
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