Renters Reform Bill Published

The end of Assured Shorthold Tenancies The flagship change proposed under the Renters (Reform) Bill is the end of Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs). These types of tenancy have been in place since the Housing Act 1988 and have allowed landlords to create fixed-term tenancies which can be ended using a Section 21 notice to quit without citing a reason.

The Bill proposes that the Section 21 notice will be removed from legislation entirely and that there can be no end date on a tenancy. This means two things:

• Firstly, all tenancies will become open-ended. A fixed term gave a specific period that the tenancy would last for, this is often 12 months and would be renewed annually. A fixed term gave flexibility to tenants, who did not want to be held into a contract for a long time, and for landlords, who may wish to make changes to the terms of the tenancy. With no fixed term provision, a tenancy can effectively last indefinitely, until ended by either party.