Renters’ Rights Bill

Lord Cromwell Excerpts

Tuesday 14th October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

My Lords, with the leave of the House I will speak also to Motions C, C1, D and D1, which are grouped together.

I thank the noble Lords, Lord Cromwell and Lord Young, for their amendments relating to the no-let restriction. Lords Amendment 18, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Cromwell, is intended to reduce the no-let period to six months where the property has been demonstrably on the market and no suitable offers have been received for that period. The noble Lord and I, alongside the noble Lord, Lord Pannick, have discussed this amendment at length and I thank them again for their continued engagement on this issue. The Government understand that there may be situations where landlords genuinely intend to sell their property but cannot do so. However, the reletting and remarketing restriction is one of the strongest safeguards we have in the Bill.

I know that many noble Lords agree with the restriction in principle but disagree with its length. The Government believe that the 12-month period will make it unprofitable for a landlord to abuse this ground. It is vital that these strong protections for tenants remain in place, and I want to be clear about the Government’s position and commitment. This is shared by Members in the other place, and today I was pleased to receive strong support from Shelter, citing research from the Nationwide Foundation that one in five landlord sale evictions does not result in a sale.

Lords Amendment 19, tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Young of Cookham, would exempt shared owners from the re-letting and re-marketing restriction and other important restrictions. I am very grateful to the noble Lord for taking the time to meet, particularly during recess when he was kind enough to have meetings to discuss this important issue, and for his continued support for shared owners. I also thank him for his amendments in lieu: Amendments 19B, 19C and 19D.

The Government are very sympathetic to shared owners experiencing building safety issues and the particular challenges they face. We have already taken a number of steps outside the Bill to provide greater clarity for shared owners on what flexibilities and support they can expect from providers. These include new commitments in the update to the Government’s remediation acceleration plan, published in July. The noble Lord’s amendments in lieu acknowledge the unique circumstances in which shared owners operate, while not compromising on the core aim of the Bill to improve security of tenure in the sector. The Government are delighted to support his amendments and we encourage the House to agree to them. We will continue to work with the noble Lord as the Bill is implemented. I beg to move.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

My Lords, I will address Amendment 18, Motion C1 in place of Motion C. To recap very briefly on the substance of the amendment, the Bill punishes any landlord who serves notice on a tenant because the landlord is selling the property but the property fails to sell.

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Fookes) (Con)]

My Lords, forgive me for interrupting, but we were on Motion B and I was under the impression that the noble Lord wanted to speak on Motion B, but it appears that he has gone to Motion C. Am I correct?

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

My mistake, I will sit down and restart later.

[The Deputy Speaker (Baroness Fookes) (Con)]

Oh, they are in the same group. It is not my afternoon, is it? Pray continue.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

We could set this to music if the noble Baroness wishes. Where did I get to? I will not start again, the House has been too patient, but I will start halfway through.

The Bill punishes any landlord who serves notice on a tenant because the landlord is selling the property but the property then fails to sell. They are not allowed to re-let it for 12 months. The property must stand empty and unrented for that 12 months. The amendment does not quibble with that punitive intention of the Bill. It accepts that, in order to prevent a few bad landlords trying to abuse the system, all property, belonging to all landlords, that fails to sell will stand empty and be impossible to live in for anyone seeking rental accommodation. The amendment simply sets that punitive period at six months and requires the landlord to furnish proof to a court of a genuine and reasonable, including reasonable pricing, attempt to sell the property during that time.

The House of Commons debate on this amendment acknowledged that the landlord being hit with 12 months of no income, along with the costs of their property standing empty for a year, is a problem. However, this was considered to be “relatively minor” and simply an

“inconvenience … to a well-meaning landlord who is struggling to sell”.

It was claimed that it is “far too easy” for

“any rogue landlord looking for an excuse to evict”

to abuse the proposed period of six months, and that

“landlords give excuses that are perhaps not all they seem to be”.—[Official Report, Commons, 8/9/25; cols. 651, 646, 652.]

I am sorry to say that no facts were presented, quantified or examined, and no evidence was provided, just these dismissive anti-landlord assertions.

--- Later in debate ---

Moved by

[Lord Cromwell]

Leave out from “House” to end and insert “do insist on its Amendment 18”.

[Lord Cromwell (CB)]

I understand that at this stage I should be very brief, so I simply say to the noble Baroness, Lady Thornhill, that I also speak to many landlords and tenants groups. Indeed, I have put amendments down on behalf of tenants groups during this process. I thank all those who have spoken. I particularly admire the ability of the noble Lord, Lord Best, to see into the mind of landlords who fail to sell their property and know what they would do next. I do question his maths, but perhaps we can come to that outside the Chamber. Selling with a sitting tenant is definitely a different matter to selling without a tenant on board. I simply say this: it is clear to me, and I hope to the House, that a rational basis suggests that a 12-month-long inability to rent out your property is disproportionate. Six months is still punitive, but it is effective. I have sought compromise on this in vain. On that basis, I wish to test the opinion of the House and beg to move Motion C1.