My updates over the last few months have focused on our efforts to create more affordable housing in the borough and our plans for the groundbreaking Golden Valley development. This month, I want to share with you some information around the Renters’ Rights Bill (2025) and what it means for renters and landlords in our area.

The Bill – a proposal to change a law or to create a new one – is the most significant reform of the private rented sector in a generation and aims to address issues such as unfair evictions, high rental costs and poor living conditions. By providing stronger legal protections for tenants, it aims to create a fairer and more stable rental market. We estimate that the private rented sector accounts for around 22.7% of households in Cheltenham.

More severe punishments for landlords that breach rental law

The Bill will allow Cheltenham Borough Council stronger powers to investigate landlords and force compliance through stricter enforcement, as well as allowing us to hand out higher fines and more severe punishments for those landlords that breach rental law.
The big headline is the abolition of ‘No Fault’ or Section 21 Evictions, which means that if you, or someone you know, is renting, they can no longer be evicted without a valid reason from their landlord.

Other benefits for tenants include stricter property condition standards, meaning that landlords will have to keep their properties in a good condition so that renters are guaranteed a home that is safe to live in. There are also tighter regulations on rent increases, making sure that these cannot happen more than once a year and only in line with market rates.

Protecting local renters

While the majority of our landlords provide a great service, I am pleased that your council will now have greater powers to protect local renters and make sure that those people no longer have to live in substandard homes with the risk of being uprooted without fair reason.
For more information about the Renters’ Rights Bill, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/
guide-to-the-renters-rights-bill