Draft Residential Tenancy (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- (P.24/2025): amendment (P.24/2025 Amd.) – second amendment

STATES OF JERSEY

DRAFT RESIDENTIAL TENANCY (JERSEY) AMENDMENT LAW 202- (P.24/2025): AMENDMENT (P.24/2025 Amd.) – SECOND AMENDMENT

Lodged au Greffe on 2nd September 2025 by Deputy M.R. Scott of St. Brelade

Earliest date for debate: 9th September 2025

STATES GREFFE

2025  P.24/2025 Amd.Amd.(2)

DRAFT RESIDENTIAL TENANCY (JERSEY) AMENDMENT LAW 202- (P.24/2025): AMENDMENT (P.24/2025 AMD.) – SECOND AMENDMENT

1  PAGE 2, AMENDMENT 1 –

For amendment 1(3) substitute –

(3)  For Article 3(2) substitute –

(2)  In Article 1(1), after the definition "period" there is inserted –

"periodic tenancy" means a residential tenancy under which the tenant occupies a residential unit on the basis of a recurrent period;

(3A)  Delete Article 3(3).

2  PAGE 2, AMENDMENT 1 –

For amendment 1(4) substitute –

(4)  In Article 3(4), for the definition "Rent Tribunal" substitute –

"Rent Tribunal" means the Tribunal (if any) established under Regulations made under Article 24(1)(la);

3  PAGE 2, AMENDMENT 3 –

After amendment 3 insert as amendment 3(2) –

(2)  In Article 5, after new Article 4(1)(d) insert –

(e)  set out notices that are approved by, and are published on a website maintained by or for, the Minister and that give information about –

1. the tenant's right to apply for a decision on whether  a rent increase is reasonable if there is a Rent Tribunal and the increase is greater than the threshold specified by Regulations;
2. the tenant's right to be heard by the Court in any proceedings brought by the landlord about the residential tenancy, including in relation to a failure to pay rent, a rent increase or an application for the tenant's eviction;
3. the Court's power to make an order about the rent payable, or to adjust the parties' rights in relation to rent payments,  under Article 16;
4. the Court's power to stay an eviction order (if obtained by the landlord under Article 11 or 12), subject to review or variation of the rent payable, under Article 14; and
5. any  publicly  available  service  for  mediating  disputes  about residential tenancies.

4  PAGE 2, AMENDMENT 4 –

For amendment 4 substitute –

4  PAGE 47, ARTICLE 6 –

For Article 6 substitute –

6  Part 3A (tenancies may become periodic) inserted

After Part 3 there is inserted –

PART 3A

TENANCIES MAY BECOME PERIODIC

7A  Certain tenancies for specified terms become periodic tenancies

A tenant's residential tenancy becomes a periodic tenancy if –

1. the tenant has had 1 or more residential tenancies of the same residential unit for a total consecutive duration of 3 years; and
2. that duration was reached by the grant, renewal or extension of 1 or more residential tenancies for a specified term of 6 months or less in each case.

5  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 6 –

For amendment 6 substitute –

6  PAGE 57, ARTICLE 9 –

In Article 9, delete new Article 11(3).

6  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 7 –

For amendment 7 substitute –

7  PAGE 57, ARTICLE 10 –

For Article 10 substitute –

10  Article 12 (termination and eviction where failure to rectify breach)

amended

After Article 12(4) there is inserted –

(5)  If there is a Rent Tribunal and it has decided that an increase in the rent payable under the agreement is not reasonable, the Court must take the decision into account in considering the matters in paragraph (2)(a) and

(4) (about a breach and its seriousness).

7  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 10 –

For amendment 10(1) substitute –

(1)  In Article 14(2), for new Article 15(1)(e) substitute –

(e)  if there is a Rent Tribunal, any decision of the Rent Tribunal that an increase in the rent payable under the agreement is not reasonable.

8  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 11 – For amendment 11 substitute –

11  PAGE 64, ARTICLE 15 –

In Article 15, for new Article 16(1A) substitute –

(1A)  If there is a Rent Tribunal –

1. the Court's jurisdiction is not exclusive in respect of a matter for which the Rent Tribunal has jurisdiction under Regulations made under Article 24(1)(la) or (lb); and
2. the Court must, in exercising its powers under this Article, take into account any decision of the Rent Tribunal that an increase in the rent payable under a residential tenancy agreement is not reasonable.

9  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 13 –

For amendment 13(1) and (2) substitute –

(1)  Delete Article 18(2).

10  PAGE 3, AMENDMENT 14 –

For amendment 14 substitute –

14  PAGE 65, ARTICLE 19 –

1. In Article 19(1), for new Article 24(1)(la) to (lf) substitute –

(la)  providing for the establishment of a Rent Tribunal with original, non-

exclusive jurisdiction, on application by the tenant, to decide whether an increase in the rent payable under a residential tenancy agreement is reasonable but only in respect of an increase that is greater than a specified threshold, whether –

1. the increase in RPI for the relevant period, rounded up to the nearest pound; or
2. another threshold;

(lb)  providing for any of the following aspects of the Rent Tribunal –

1. criteria or other matters that it must or may consider in making a decision;
2. a power to –

1. consider the reasons for the landlord's or tenant's views about a rent increase;
2. propose an amount of rent that it thinks is reasonable;
3. help resolve a disagreement about a rent increase;
4. order that a rent increase that is not reasonable has no effect; or
5. order that the rent payable is changed to the reasonable amount that it proposes;

3. its  functions,  its  other  powers,  rights  and  privileges  and  its jurisdiction;
4. its composition, the appointment of its members and the ending of membership;
5. its decision-making and procedures;
6. rights to appeal its decisions;
7. the publication of its decisions;

(viii)  the disclosure of interests or information by its members; (ix)  the remuneration, reimbursement or liability of its members;

2. After Article 19(1) insert –

2. After new Article 24(1)(lb) there is inserted –

(lc)  requiring  a  landlord  to  provide  the  Minister  with  specified information that relates to the rent payable under each of their residential  tenancies,  including  information  about  each residential unit;

(ld)  providing for the  following aspects  of the  provision of that

information –

1. the purposes for which it may be required;
2. the times at which, and the way in which, it must be provided;
3. how the Minister may use or disclose the information;

3. After Article 19(2) insert –

3. After Article 24(1) there is inserted –

(1AA) Before lodging a proposition containing draft Regulations to be

made under paragraph (1)(la) or (lb), the Minister must consult the Judicial Greffier.

4. In Article 19, renumber the subsequent paragraph as Article 19(4) and, in that paragraph, delete new Article 24(3)(ba) and (bb).
5. After Article 19(4) insert –

5. After Article 24(5) there is inserted –
   6. In paragraph (1)(la) –

"increase in RPI for the relevant period" means the following, as calculated from the figures published by the Chief Statistician most recently before the start, and before the end, of the relevant period –

1. the percentage increase in the Retail Price s Index during the relevant period;
2. 0% if there was a percentage decrease in the Retail Price s Index during the relevant period;

"relevant period" means the period that –

1. starts on the day on which the rent was last set or increased during the total duration of the residential tenancy; and
2. ends on the day on which the landlord gives notice of the rent increase;

"total  duration", for  a  residential  tenancy,  includes  the  total consecutive duration of the following, whether during 1 or more specified terms or while a periodic tenancy –

1. that tenancy; and
2. any 1 or more consecutive earlier residential tenancies of the same tenant and residential unit.

11  PAGE 4, AMENDMENT 19 –

Delete amendment 19.

DEPUTY M.R. SCOTT OF ST. BRELADE

REPORT

Introduction

1. This Amendment seeks to build on the work of both Deputy Bailhache and the Minister for Housing, so that:

• tenants can be better protected; and

• objectives of the Common Strategic Policy are furthered more progressively,

without fundamentally changing long-standing property rights in Jersey or harming the economy that supports Islanders as a whole. It also provides some middle ground for debate.

2. Deputy Bailhache 's amendment offers much-needed simplification of the draft Law but has attracted criticism for largely re-establishing the status quo. This amendment therefore modifies the content in Deputy Bailhache 's amendment to produce the same intended outcome as P.24/2025 Amd.(6) (as amended by the amendment that I am lodging to that amendment).
3. Deputy Bailhache 's amendment, if not withdrawn, will be debated before P.24/2025 Amd.(6). To the extent that its content as amended by this Amendment is approved, the content of P.24/2025 Amd.(6) will fall away.

Outcome of proposals 4.

• To enable a Rent Tribunal to be established by Regulations with non-exclusive jurisdiction over rent increases above a specified threshold;

• To require the Petty Debts Court to consider the Rent Tribunal's decisions in relevant proceedings;

• To provide for a limited situation in which fixed term leases would convert into periodic tenancies;

• To support tenants by requiring landlords to inform them in lease documentation of their rights and  potential resources in the  event of any  rent increase and any proceedings being brought by the landlord to recover rent from, or to evict, the tenant; and

• To enable provisions regarding rent information to be brought by Regulations rather than Ministerial Order.

The  Appendix to this Proposition explains which technical amendments to the Law achieves the different proposed outcomes.

Overview of Reasons for Proposals

5. The Report to P.24/2025 Amd.(6) explains my reasoning for these amendments in more detail, which is summarised below:

1. advice I have sought from government's Economics Unit, in the context of the current economic environment and state of the housing market in Jersey, does not support the introduction of disincentives to invest in buy to lets of the nature proposed in the draft Law at this time;[1]

2. the rent stabilisation and other measures in the Draft Residential Tenancy (Jersey) Amendment Law 202- (P.24/2025) (the draft Law) have been developed, and official economic advice sought at the time of its initial development, by the relevant policy makers in a silo, and likewise scrutinised by the Minister's Scrutiny Panel in that siloed context;
3. the Minister's existing power to prescribe different notice periods for different classes of periodic leases can be built upon so that the security of tenure offered by fixed term leases can be retained without interfering with:

• long-established property rights in the manner proposed by the draft Law, or

• restricting the court's jurisdiction to dispense justice and support tenants on a case-by-case basis in favour of blanket rules designed by policy makers that could give rise to injustices and perverse results,

while ensuring that fixed term leases that have been operating in the same way as periodic tenancies (that are not already covered by the principle of tacite réconduction) are not used by bad landlords' to avoid giving tenants the benefit of the notice periods that apply to periodic tenancies;

4. there remains more support in our community for the establishment of a rent tribunal but the basis on which it should operate merits further examination from a holistic economic perspective; and
5. likewise, there is merit in providing a mechanism whereby proposals concerning the provision of rent information allow time for adequate scrutiny.

Establishment of new Rent Tribunal by Regulations

6. Deputy Bailhache 's Amendment seeks to remove all content in the draft Law that relate to rent control and the establishment of a rent tribunal and to reinstate the outdated and redundant  Dwelling-Houses (Rent Control) (Jersey) Law 1946 (the 1946 Law). This reinstatement could be regarded as regressive, as well as leaving the Government with the possible prospect of re-establishing the rent tribunal under the 1946 Law (which would require all rent increases for certain properties to be approved by it).
7. There are also cost containment benefits (as with the Minister's current proposals) in providing that a Rent Tribunal should only consider rent increases over a certain threshold.
8. If it is accepted that a rent freeze has consequences contrary to CSP outcomes (as the economic advice I have obtained suggests), more consideration needs to be given as to what that threshold should be (with the benefit of holistic economic advice) and how a new rent tribunal should be established and operated.
9. For example, the Government's Economic Unit has indicated to me that if rent controls are to be linked to indexes, where an economic environment supports stabilisation measures, a preferable measure could be the lower of average earnings and RPI. While most leases have clauses linking rent increases to RPI, in Jersey, many salaries have not kept pace with RPI.
10. Article 10 of my amendment provides for the Rent Tribunal to be established by Regulations, and for such Regulations to include other details regarding the Rent Tribunal's powers and criteria to be applied by it in determining whether a rent increase is reasonable. This would enable the Minister for Housing to lead further work on the proposed future proposals for a Rent Tribunal that could sit more comfortably with States Members and the general community, and allow further scrutiny, without necessarily delaying the introduction of a Rent Tribunal beyond the appointed day of the proposed draft Law.

11. Article 3 of my amendment makes provision for leases to notify tenants of their right to apply to a Rent Tribunal for a decision whether a rent is reasonable if any increase is greater than the threshold specified in Regulations. Articles 7 and 10 of my amendment provide that the Court must consider decisions of the Rent Tribunal regarding rent, while being able to make exercise its own judgment in such matters (increasing the choices of tenants rather than limiting them and reducing potential red tape).

Fixed term leases

12. The Minister's proposals regarding fixed term leases and termination of leases have been described by him as a solution to the occurrence of revenge evictions', whereby a landlord can serve notice on a tenant in accordance with the landlord's rights in circumstances where, e.g., a tenant has sought to exercise that tenant's statutory rights against that landlord.
13. As Deputy Bailhache has highlighted in the Report to his Amendment, conversely fixed term leases can offer more security of tenure than other forms of tenancy through the certainty of their stated fixed term. While the commitment to that fixed term can create risks for both the tenant and the landlord, from the tenant's perspective, additional forms of security are offered by:

1. the principle of tacite réconduction operating to create a periodic tenancy (which, in turn, would be subject to any notice periods prescribed by the Minister) where a landlord accepts rent past the date of expiry of a fixed term lease: and
2. only a court having the legal right to evict a tenant, with protection offered in the forms of stays of execution in cases where the Court is satisfied that they would serve the interests of justice.

14. The Minister has expressed a concern to me regarding the uncertainty caused by stays of eviction generally, as a justification for restricting the use of fixed term leases. Deputy Bailhache has pointed out that availability of alternative property/landlords often is more desirable where relationships break down and that the current draft Law threatens to procure the reverse (which is consistent with the economic advice to which I have referred above).
15. While Deputy Bailhache 's amendment proposes to retain the benefits of fixed term leases, it is important to counter the potential for abuse, where a succession of fixed term leases effectively provides less of a notice period for a tenant than might otherwise be prescribed by the Minister for periodic leases under his existing powers in Article 6 of the main Law.
16. Article 4 of my amendment therefore provides for leases with a fixed term of less than 6 months, successively granted or extended over a period of 3 years, to be treated as periodic leases for the purpose of Article 6 of the main Law.
17. This situation can be distinguished from grants of fixed term leases with rolling break clauses (which allow the landlord to terminate at any time after a certain point). Deputy Bailhache 's amendment already addresses this by removing the provisions of the draft Law that seek to abolish the operation of the customary law principle of tacite rèconduction', which operates to create a periodic tenancy in such circumstances.

Termination of leases

18. Improved support of tenants can be achieved by increasing their awareness of the potential support of the court that already is available to them, where landlords bring proceedings for non-payment of rent or seek eviction. These include orders that can be made by the Petty Debts Court in respect of arrears of rents and adjustments of rights under a lease (where the Court is satisfied it would serve the interests of justice, stays of eviction and publicly available mediation services).  
19. Article 3 of my amendment accordingly provides for landlords to be required to inform tenants of these matters in lease documentation (at the time the lease is made, varied or renewed).

Rent Information

20. The amendment also proposes to modify Deputy Bailhache 's amendment so that the provision of rent information can be required by Regulations approved by the States Assembly rather than by Ministerial Order.
21. This would give more time for proposals of this nature to be scrutinised and for policymakers to give further consideration to the avoidance of red tape. This could include further examination of the argument that rolling rent information could be made available by amendment to the existing requirement for landlords and tenants to make returns pursuant the Control of Housing and Work (Jersey) Law 2012.

In conclusion, the changes I seek are intended to find a way forward that would allow changes to the status quo that would be beneficial for both the Economic and Community Wellbeing of all Islanders, be they Tenant or Landlord (or neither), and to allow further work on optimal and more balanced changes (including in the form of a Rent Tribunal), without necessarily delaying implementation, or requiring a further law change or outright rejection of the Minister's Proposition.

Financial and staffing implications

There are limited financial or staffing implications from these amendments relating only to procedural adjustments and policy work.

Children's Rights Impact Assessment

A Children's Rights Impact Assessment (CRIA) has been prepared in relation to this proposition and is available to read on the States Assembly website.

APPENDIX TO REPORT

P.24/2025 (Amd.) (Amd.2)

GROUPING OF ARTICLES ACCORDING TO SUBJECT MATTER

Rent Controls and Rent Tribunal

Consequential

Amendments 1, 5, 7, 8

Termination of leases and periodic leases

Provision of information to tenants

[1]1 this is because of the potential risk of divestment in rental properties not being corrected in the manner contemplated by the Minister owing to added disincentives to invest in buy-to-let properties