One in five (20%) letting agents are worried about tenancies moving to assured or ‘periodic’ tenancies, Goodlord has revealed
Tenancies are often under 12 month contracts. The move to assured, or ‘periodic’, tenancies will mean that properties will be under rolling monthly contracts, once the Bill has been implemented.
Scotland introduced rolling contracts in 2017.
When asked where extra support and guidance would be most helpful, over half (52) % of agents said the move to assured tenancies, saying there’s a lack of clarity as to what these changes will mean for them in practice.
Oliver Sherlock, director of insurance at Goodlord, said: “Whilst we have now seen the first version of this Bill, it doesn’t mean the industry has full clarity- far from it. These findings show that a lot of concerns and unanswered questions remain for agents and their landlords when it comes to the sweeping changes this legislation will enact.
“For some areas, such as the Bill’s possibly unintended impact on student tenancies, we hope that the government factors this into the final text of the legislation. In the meantime, it’s clear the industry must start to get to grips with the details of the bill and make meaningful preparations now to ensure their businesses are well prepared for change.”
When asked which element of the Renters (Reform) Bill was causing them the most concern, 50% of the letting agents surveyed said the abolition of Section 21 was their primary worry.
Next on the list of concerns is the planned reform to Section 8, the new and strengthened regulations designed to allow landlords to evict a tenant after six months if they wish to sell the property, move in themselves or offer the property to a relative.
