The elected Labour Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, is warning landlords to expect tough consequences if they fail to comply with nthe Renters Rights Act.
He says his region will be proactive in using new powers from May 1 2026 to improve quality of life for private renters and raise the decency and safety of their homes. But he also encouraged what he calls “the thousands of fair and responsible West Midlands landlords” to find out what the changes will mean for them and use the next few months to get ready.
He says: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure and decent home – it’s a fundamental right, and essential for people’s wellbeing and their ability to get on in life.
“While many landlords do right by their tenants, there are others that don’t, leaving young children in damp, unhealthy homes, and their parents living in fear of losing their home through no fault of their own.
“We must keep driving up the standard of private rental accommodation in our region and protect vulnerable people and families.
“That’s why I will be working with our local councils in using these new laws to support fair minded landlords so they are ready for 1 May but also crackdown on those rogue landlords who have blighted too many lives for far too long.”
Local councils will be legally responsible for overseeing the new laws, backed by stronger enforcement powers and support from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), which is chaired by the Mayor.
This includes tougher fines of up to £7,000 for breaches, rising to £40,000 for repeated breaches of the rules or for serious offences. Tenants or local authorities will also be able to seek rent repayment orders, forcing landlords to pay back rent for offences.
In addition to the ban on Section 21 evictions, other measures coming into effect on May 1 under the Renters Rights Act include making it illegal for landlords to increase rent prices more than once a year; ask for more than one month’s rent payment in advance; pit prospective tenants against one another through rental bidding wars; and discriminate against potential tenants because they receive benefits or have children.
Tenants will also be able to appeal excessive above-market rent increases that try to force them out and require landlords to consider requests to rent with a pet.
There are 225,000 privately rented homes in the West Midlands, but the Mayor claims that a quarter fail to meet minimum standards of decency due to issues like excessive damp, mould and cold.
Later next year, the Act will see the introduction of more protections to improve conditions in privately rented accommodation. These include the creation of a Landlord Ombudsman to help settle disputes between landlords and tenants and the rollout of a mandatory landlord database, which will provide key information on each PRS property.
This article is taken from Landlord Today