Renters' Rights Bill Report Stage: Amendment 3

What happened: On 14 January 2025, the House of Commons voted on Amendment 3 to the Renters' Rights Bill during its Report Stage (the stage at which the full House debates and votes on changes to a bill after it has been examined in committee). The amendment was defeated by 360 votes to 186. Every Labour and Labour and Co-operative MP who voted did so against the amendment, while the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats voted unanimously in favour, joined by smaller groups including the Greens, Reform UK, the Democratic Unionist Party, and a handful of independents.

Why it matters: The Renters' Rights Bill is the government's flagship legislation to overhaul the private rented sector, including abolishing no-fault evictions and reforming how rent increases are handled. Amendment 3 sought to modify the terms of that reform, with those voting in favour arguing it would strengthen tenant protections or adjust rental market controls beyond what the government had proposed. By defeating the amendment, the government kept its own version of the bill intact at this stage. The result means the core framework of the bill as drafted by ministers remained unchanged on this point, directly affecting millions of private renters and landlords across England.

The politics: The vote split almost entirely along government-versus-opposition lines. Labour and its Co-operative partners formed a solid bloc against the amendment, while Conservatives and Liberal Democrats united on the same side despite their broader political differences, a pattern repeated across several votes on the same day. Notably, the bill passed its Third Reading later that same sitting by 440 votes to 111, indicating that while opposition parties challenged individual provisions throughout Report Stage, there was ultimately broad enough support to send the bill to the House of Lords.