Knowledge

Currently, Jersey's residential tenancies are regulated by the Residential Tenancy (Jersey) Law 2011 (the "2011 Law"). The 2011 Law governs the rights and obligations of residential landlords and their tenants and imposes a number of minimum requirements on the composition of residential tenancy agreements.

Under new proposals, the Minister for Housing, Sam Mézec has laid out his intention to introduce a legislative framework which would replace the 2011 Law. The legislation has not yet been drawn up, although the proposal anticipates that it will be implemented in 2025.

The introduction of these proposals to the States comes shortly before the new residential landlord licensing scheme is due to be implemented. For more information on the scheme, please refer to our briefing on the topic.

The key changes

Enhanced security of tenure for tenants

The proposals lay out an intention to grant additional rights to long-term tenants which would:

• entitle tenants to longer notice periods before their tenancy can be terminated; and
•  protect tenants from "no-fault evictions" (which have become particularly political in the UK).

These additional rights will, it seems, be tempered by the creation of a more comprehensive framework under which landlords can terminate the tenancy agreement and reclaim their property where a tenant has breached their tenancy agreement.

Rent stabilisation measures

The Minister for Housing is looking to impose rent controls under the new legislation. In particular, it is proposed that:

• only one rent review per year could be conducted;
• minimum notice periods would be introduced for the rent review; and
• rent increases would be controlled.

The Minister for Housing has recognised that there is the possibility that the above rent stabilisation measures could produce unintended consequences. Whilst the proposal itself does not detail the unintended consequences being considered, they may include:

• that the introduction of such rent stabilisation measures in other jurisdictions has caused an initial spike in rents in advance of the rent control measures being implemented; and
• aggressive rent control measures may mean that landlords are not able to recover an appropriate market rent or a rent which sufficiently covers the cost of owning the relevant property. This could lead to private landlords leaving the rental market.

Housing tribunal

The proposals anticipate that a new housing tribunal would be established to resolve housing disputes. It is specified that the housing tribunal may allow landlords to deviate from the rent control measures in exceptional circumstances, where the legislation creates a barrier to landlords setting an appropriate level of rent.

Further future legislation

Currently, the 2011 Law and associated legislation only applies to self-contained dwelling accommodation. The Minister for Housing has indicated that a second swathe of legislation (following further consultation) may extend the reach of the law to include non-self-contained dwelling accommodation and landlord-employers.

The proposals also indicate that the Minister for Housing will, in the future, consider a separate system of regulation for social housing. Nevertheless, social housing is likely (at least in part) to be subject to the first wave of new legislation.

Conclusion

The draft legislation will need to be analysed in detail once available. However, the proposed legislative changes are likely to substantially alter the current legal framework and the rights and obligations of both landlords and tenants.

If you would like any further information, please get in touch with your usual Bedell Cristin contact or one of the contacts listed.