Your July 2025 newsletter

It’s all about the Renters’ Rights Bill and Awaab’s Law this month.

The Renter’s Rights bill is entering its Report Stage in the House of Lords, and the government has published draft guidance for Awaab’s Law. We’re here to update on the key takeaways.

Rachel Reeves also delivered the UK spending review, pledging billions of pounds for affordable homes and increased funding for the court system. While there wasn’t anything specific for current landlords, investment should help improve the overall health of the housing sector.

RRB to enter the report stage, compelled pet insurance scrapped

Starting on July 1st, the RRB will be back in the House of Lords for the first of three Report Stage Debates. After the first, the next two debates are scheduled for July 7th and 15th.

This late Report Stage might mean that the RRB won’t receive Royal Assent before the government’s summer recess and won’t become effective until later in the Autumn.

The main takeaway from the current amendments is that Landlords will no longer be able to require tenants with pets to obtain pet damage insurance.

This represents a significant departure from previous plans and may lead to anxiety among landlords, as they will still need to accept tenants with pets and cannot unreasonably deny permission to allow pets in their properties.

The government publishes draft guidance on Awaab’s Law

On the 25th June, the government published the draft guidance for social landlords on Awaab’s Law. The law, brought in after the tragic death of Awaab Ishak in 2020, will apply to all social landlords from October 2025.

In an effort to tackle damp, mould, and other hazards in social housing, the law introduces strict timelines for landlords to investigate and repair any issues with their properties.

The guidance has stated that it is “unacceptable” to delay investigating a tenant complaint based on the assumption that a tenant’s “lifestyle” is causing damp and mould. It specifically calls out “cooking, bathing, washing and drying laundry” as unavoidable day-to-day activities that may cause moisture in properties without breaching the tenancy contract.

The government plans to use secondary legislation to expand Awaab’s Law into the Private Rental Sector as part of the RRB. This means that landlords will be responsible to ensuring their properties are in compliance with the new regulations.

As your letting agent, we’ll be able to help you investigate, document, and repair any potential hazards before they become an issue.