The Conservatives have raised the prospect of scrapping Labour’s Renters’ Rights Act just five months after its main tenancy reforms came into force.
Shadow Housing Secretary Katie Lam reportedly told the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Sunday that the legislation “has to go”, prompting Labour to demand clarification over whether repeal is now official Tory policy.
However, Conservative Campaign Headquarters subsequently indicated that Lam had been speaking in broader terms rather than announcing a formal commitment to abolish the Act.
The intervention nevertheless raises the possibility of another major overhaul of England’s private rented sector under a future Conservative government.
LANDLORD REFORMS
The Renters’ Rights Act introduced some of the biggest changes to private renting in decades when its principal tenancy reforms took effect on 1 May.
Assured shorthold tenancies were replaced by assured periodic tenancies and Section 21 no-fault evictions were abolished, alongside changes to possession grounds and other landlord obligations.
Further elements of the reforms are being implemented in stages.
LABOUR CHALLENGE
Labour Party chair Bridget Phillipson challenged Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch to clarify the party’s position following Lam’s comments.
She said Badenoch needed to make clear whether it was Conservative policy to remove protections introduced for private renters.
Any commitment to repeal the legislation would represent a significant change of direction for landlords and letting agents who have already spent months adapting their businesses and tenancy processes to the new regime.
The Conservatives have yet to confirm that repealing the Act is official party policy.
