Renters’ Rights Bill: Motion to disagree with Lords Amendment 26

MPs voted on 8 September 2025 to reject Lords Amendment 26 to the Renters' Rights Bill, which would have required local authorities to meet the criminal standard of proof (beyond reasonable doubt) rather than the civil standard (balance of probabilities) when imposing financial penalties on landlords for discriminating against tenants with children or those in receipt of benefits. The motion to disagree with the Lords passed by 404 votes to 98, Division 282. The vote preserves the civil standard of proof for enforcement of the bill's ban on rental discrimination. Supporters of the government's position argued that requiring councils to prove discrimination beyond reasonable doubt would make the new anti-discrimination rules almost unenforceable in practice, because early interactions between landlords and prospective tenants often occur verbally and without a written record. The civil standard, they argued, is consistent with comparable legislation including the Equality Act 2010. Opponents who backed the Lords amendment wanted a higher evidential bar before landlords face financial penalties, arguing that the criminal standard offers stronger protections against unjust sanctions. The vote divided almost entirely along party lines. All 289 Labour MPs and 36 Labour and Co-operative MPs who voted supported the motion, as did all 62 Liberal Democrats and all voting members of the Green Party, Democratic Unionist Party, and Your Party. All 88 voting Conservatives and all 6 voting Reform UK MPs opposed it, joined by 2 independents. No Conservative MPs voted with the government. The result placed the amendment alongside several other Lords changes rejected on the same day by similar margins, with the government winning every motion to disagree brought before the Commons during this sitting.