Renters Rights Bill: Second Reading Today

The First Reading of the Renters Rights Bill took place in parliament on September 11^th.

On September 12^th, I had a really interesting conversation with someone who had been speaking to an accountant. Not just any accountant, but the CEO of an accountancy firm. Not just any accountancy firm, though… a really, really big accountancy firm; and the question that that presumably top-level accountant asked him was: “So this law that changed yesterday, does that mean I can’t get rid of my tenants now?”

As the Renters Rights Bill gets its Second Reading in Parliament today, I thought it would be a good opportunity to dispel some myths, and to explain what the process is as this Parliamentary Bill moves through the various stages it will move through before it potentially (although in this case, probably) becomes an Act of Parliament (i.e. ‘The Law’).

First things first: the law has not changed.

But we do (probably, but not definitely) need to add the word: ‘yet’.

We have discussed what the proposed legislation will usher in before – an end to Section 21 (so called ‘no fault evictions), a right for tenants to request pets, a limitation on landlords increasing rent, a stop to so called ‘bidding wars’…

I don’t want to go over old ground.

The fact is that Labour does intend to bring the Renters Rights Act into law, and we knew that would be the case from their manifesto. It is probably noteworthy that they have been quick to introduce it into the parliamentary schedule, though; there can be no doubt that it is a priority on Angela Rayner’s agenda.

However, despite it hitting headlines after its First Reading in Parliament on September 11^th, it does still have some way to go before it is written in to the statute books.

So if you ever wanted to know, here is an outline of what a ‘typical’ passage actually looks like for a Bill (started in the House of Commons rather than The House of Lords, which is a similar process, but another story) to go through, according to the UK Governments own guidance to MPs, with my own clarifications, simplifications and occasional interjections:

Draft Bill

Draft bills are early versions of bills. The Government does not have to publish a bill in draft form, but they sometimes do this to get feedback on what they are proposing. The process of examining a draft bill is known as pre-legislative scrutiny. Pre-legislative scrutiny is usually undertaken by specially-formed joint committees with members drawn from the House of Commons and the House of Lords. But it can also be undertaken by a select committee with a specific interest in the draft bill. Sometimes pre-legislative scrutiny is undertaken by both a joint committee and a select committee.

First Reading

A ‘First reading’ is the Bill’s formal introduction to scrutiny – although at this stage there is no debate. Government bills are usually published immediately after first reading. The clerk reads the title of the bill and a Government whip names a date for its second reading. The whip will often say “tomorrow,” but this is just a way of placing the bill on the list of upcoming business. It doesn’t mean the second reading will actually happen tomorrow. In practice, there are usually two weekends between first reading and second reading.

Second Reading

Second reading is the first chance for Members of Parliament (if it is a Bill started in the House of Commons that is, not the House of Lords) to talk about the purpose of the bill. It’s the first time the bill is debated. The debate usually takes a whole sitting (about five or six hours), after which MPs decide whether the bill should pass to the next stage. Occasionally, second reading debates for major bills take place over two days. It’s possible for a bill to have a second reading with no debate, as long as MPs agree to the bill’s progress.

Of course, this means that a Bill might NOT progress, at this point…

Timetabling and Money

Immediately after the second reading of a Government bill, the House usually decides without further debate on any programme order, or money, or ways and means, resolutions. These relate to the timetabling and financial elements of the bill.

Committee Stage

At committee stage, MPs go through the bill in detail. The committee stage usually starts a couple of weeks after second reading. Most bills are considered by a public bill committee, which is usually made up of 17 MPs. Public bill committees can take evidence from the public. Bills can also be considered by MPs in the Chamber in what’s known as a Committee of the whole House. This usually happens if the Government needs to pass a bill quickly or if a bill is of constitutional importance. Sometimes bills can be considered partly by a public bill committee and partly by a Committee of the Whole House. This usually happens with Finance Bills. In rare cases a Select Committee can be set up to consider a bill, such as the Armed Forces Bill Select Committee. In these cases, the bill is then considered in a Committee of the whole House.

If it does go to a Committee of the whole House, which takes part in the Chamber, it means that all MPs are members of the Committee and any MP can take part. It considers the Bill in the same way as a public bill committee, but doesn’t take evidence. Before the Committee starts the Speaker leaves the Chair and a Deputy Speaker or a member of the Panel of Chairs (MPs chosen by the Speaker for chairing duties) takes over. The ceremonial Mace is removed from its place on the table in front of the Speaker’s chair. Once this has happened the House is in Committee and the debate on the amendments and clauses begins.

Report Stage

Report stage, also known as Consideration, is an opportunity for the whole House to consider what has been done during the committee stage. There is no set time period between the end of committee stage and report stage. You can propose amendments at report stage. If the bill has been amended at its committee stage, it will normally be reprinted before report stage.

Unlike at committee stage where all schedules and clauses of the bill need to be agreed, at report stage only the parts of the bill MPs are seeking to amend are considered. The usual sequence at report stage is:

• new clauses
• amendments to existing clauses
• new schedules
• amendments to existing schedules

For Government bills a programme order can set out a different sequence. Once all the amendments have been dealt with, the report stage is over, and the bill moves to third reading.

If the bill has been considered by a Committee of the whole House (rather than a public bill committee) and not amended, there is no report stage and the Bill passes straight to third reading.

Third Reading

Third reading is the final opportunity for MPs to pass or reject the whole bill. It normally takes place immediately after report stage. There is usually up to an hour for the debate, although some of this time might be used up by any votes at the end of report stage. In the House of Commons, you can’t amend the text of the bill at third reading (unlike in the House of Lords, where amendments can be made at third reading). If you disagree with the content of the bill, you can submit a reasoned amendment setting out why. The Speaker will decide whether to select your reasoned amendment for debate. Reasoned amendments to third reading are rare.

King’s consent

If a bill affects the interests of the King or Prince of Wales, they need to agree to put those interests at the disposal of the House. This is called Consent and is different to Royal Assent. A minister who’s a Privy Counsellor will formally indicate that King’s Consent or Prince of Wales’s Consent has been received at the start of the third reading debate.

(Now that would be an interesting one… technically, as the King and the Prince of Wales are landlords, this Bill does affect their interests… I would be flabbergasted however if they don’t give it for such a Bill!)

What happens after third reading?

If the bill started in the Commons, as this Bill has been, it is then sent to the House of Lords. If the Lords change the bill, it comes back to the Commons with a list of the changes, which the Commons is asked to agree. These changes are known as Lords Amendments. The bill is sent back and forth between the Houses as they resolve any disagreements on the final wording of the Bill. This is known – somewhat childishly, but so is the ludicrous nature of our Parliamentary system! – as ping-pong. Once the bill is agreed by both Houses, it is sent for Royal Assent.

A quick note on Amendments

MPs can submit amendments at three different stages of a bill’s progress: committee stage; report stage; or when a bill has been amended by the Lords and returned for consideration of those so-called Lords amendments. MPs can submit the same amendment at report stage as they did at committee stage, but it’s up to the Speaker to choose whether to select it for debate. The Speaker might decide that the issue has already been fully discussed. Amendments submitted by backbenchers are unlikely to be agreed to, but can be used as a way of holding a debate on an issue or establishing the Government’s intentions (this type of amendment is sometimes called a probing amendment). The Government can submit amendments to their own bills.

Royal Assent

Once a bill has completed all the parliamentary stages in both Houses, it’s ready to receive Royal Assent. This is when the King formally agrees to make the bill into an Act of Parliament. Bills are usually presented to the King for Royal Assent in batches at roughly monthly intervals. When Royal Assent has been granted, it is announced by the Speaker of each House. At the end of a Session, any bills awaiting Royal Assent are dealt with during the Prorogation ceremony, with the Clerk of the Parliaments (the lead official in the House of Lords) speaking the words of Royal Assent in Norman French (“Le Roi le veult” – “the King wishes it”).

Carrying bills over to another session

Any bill that hasn’t received Royal Assent by the end of a session falls. But a Government bill can be preserved. A minister can table a motion known as a “carry-over motion”. In the next session, a carried-over bill restarts at whatever stage it had reached in the preceding session. Carry-over motions only apply to Government bills and don’t apply to bills that started in the House of Lords. A bill can only be carried over once. A carry-over motion extends the life of a bill to 12 months from its first reading in the House of Commons. If the bill won’t reach Royal Assent by then, the Government can ask the House to agree to extend the deadline.

Bills can’t be carried over between parliaments however (i.e. following a general election) – and that is why this Bill from Labour, the Renters Rights Bill, is being brought in at First Reading Stage, rather than the Conservatives’ Renters Reform Bill  being picked up again… that Bill died, when it had not reached the stage of getting granted Royal Assent by the time the General Election came.

So, now it’s the Law?

Assuming it reaches and receives Royal Assent, the Bill – either in its original form or having been amended if that is what has taken place during Committee Stage, Report Stage or during its scrutiny by The Lords before its Third Reading – is now passed as an Act of Parliament, which means it will then be the law. But, as we can see, there is plenty of opportunity for it to change shape, perhaps be watered down, or even be stopped in its tracks – which means that, today, when the Renters Rights Bill is receiving its Second Reading, it still clearly has a long, long way to go before it becomes ‘the law’, and at this stage we just don’t know, still, what shape it will eventually take.

With such a majority in Parliament, and given that it is only realistically a little stronger than the Tories’ own previously tabled Bill (The Renters Reform Bill), there is obviously more reason to think that this Bill will come to pass – but then again, some of the things that are most concerning Landlords and Letting Agents will likely come under scrutiny and may well be amended, watered down or removed from the final Act in the process.

We will have to wait and see if this Bill passes through parliament unchanged – but for the time being I hope this gives you a better understanding of the process and a reason why – as yet – we can’t quite count our chickens, but also a reason to understand that we are – as yet – months away from seeing any version of the Renters Rights Bill brought in as an Act of Parliament and thus becoming ‘the new law’.