Renters’ Rights Bill amendment includes housing for self-employed farm staff

A successful amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill means farmers will be able to regain possession of accommodation for an incoming agricultural worker, regardless of whether they are employed directly or self-employed. 

The NFU led on lobbying for this, and without it the bill would only have allowed properties to be taken back from tenants for employed workers.

Examples of qualifying self-employed people might include a party to a share-farming arrangement.

Or a self-employed shepherd or dairy relief worker, reflecting changing employment in farming.

See also: Renters’ Rights Bill – how rural residential landlords can prepare for changes in lettings

The Renters’ Rights Bill returns to the House of Commons today, but has now effectively finished the stage where amendments are considered.

Royal Assent is imminent, turning the bill into the Renters’ Rights Act.

Phased introduction

However, nothing will change immediately as the law will not be actually implemented until it is “commenced”.

There will be some warning of when this will be, said Harry Flanagan, senior legal adviser at the Country Land and Business Association (CLA).

“Even when we do finally know the commencement date, only some of the changes will kick in then, as much of this bill will be brought in at various later stages.”

The bill introduces new grounds to ensure landlords can regain possession when it is reasonable.

Unless one of these grounds is met, tenants will have a right to remain in their rented property until they decide to end the tenancy by giving two months’ notice to their landlord.

It will abolish section 21 evictions – so-called “no fault” evictions – in the private rented sector.

To achieve this, it will end fixed-term tenancies and move to periodic tenancies, which do not have an end date.

As well as the ability to recover possession to house farmworkers, amendments secured include housing of employees in a way that permanent security of tenure could be avoided.

This is so that employer-landlords will still be able to get their properties back from former employees once employment ends.

However, the CLA is disappointed the government refused to support broadening the ground for possession to house agricultural workers to other types of (non-agricultural) employees that are often needed to be housed – such as those in equine industries or for diversification enterprises.

An amendment that would have enabled a landlord to regain possession where the house is needed to house a carer for the landlord or their family also failed.