We hope you've had a chance to get out and about with friends and family in the warmer weather since the first of the restrictions have been lifted. We've had a quieter month on the news front, however, the government has made some changes to their right to rent guidelines during Covid-19, while the Renters' Reform Bill could be back on the horizon.

Our rental market performance over the past month

Rents held steady across England whilst the salaries of renters rose during April. However, as lockdown restrictions eased and the population focused on enjoying their new freedoms, voids rose in most areas of the country. Here’s a snapshot of how our agency performed in April:

• We achieved an average rent of £774
• Our deal turnaround times were 13 days on average
• On average the tenants we rent to have an income of £18371
• The average age of our tenants is 40

Retrospective checks dropped in government's updated right to rent guidance from 17 May 2021

Since 30 March 2020, temporary measures for the right to rent checks in England, which traditionally take place in person, have been in place. Now, the government has published guidance on how the checks should be conducted after 16 May 2021, with retrospective, in-person checks no longer required for that period. From 17 May 2021, the above rules revert to agents or landlords checking the tenants' original documents, or using the online process, which continues to be voluntary for tenants. The government has noted that, while the pandemic is still ongoing, tenants may "struggle to show evidence of their right to rent in England" and has reminded agents and landlords to not discriminate against the tenant if they are unable to show their documents as a result. Right to rent checks are carried out as part of our let-only and fully managed services, but if you have any questions on the new process, please get in touch with us.

Renters' Reform Bill could be back on the agenda

The State Opening of Parliament takes place on 11 May and it's expected that this could be when the government confirms the Renters Reform Bill is to enter the Commons on the road to becoming law. The Renters' Reform Bill proposes a sweeping set of reforms for the private rented sector, including:

• Ending so-called “no fault’ evictions by removing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, and reforming the grounds for possession.
• Making improvements to Section 8, giving landlords more rights to regain possession of their property, as well as improving the court process for landlords to make it quicker and easier for them to get their property back sooner.
• Introducing a new “lifetime deposit”, that moves with tenants from property to property.
• Widening the scope for entries on the rogue landlord and agent database, and providing tenants with access to this information.

We'll keep you updated as soon as we learn more about the Renters' Reform Bill but feel free to get in touch with us if you would like more information in the meantime.