A General Election has been called for July 4.

So what happens to the Renters Reform Bill, which has been the subject of years of controversy and which is now part way through its Parliamentary process?

It has gone through the House of Commons and has had its first reading in the Lords.

It should next go on to the committee stage in the Lords, which could in normal times take some weeks. Providing the Bill emerges from committee without significant conflicts with the version of the Bill agreed by the Commons, it could then quickly go through final procedures in the Lords before being given Royal Assent and becoming law.

But can that realistically happen by the time Parliament is dissolved?

There are normally several days between an election being called and Parliament (including the Lords) being dissolved. During this period, Parliament will continue in what is called the ‘wash-up’.

Any Parliamentary business not completed by the end of ‘wash-up’ will fall. This means Bills that have not received Royal Assent will not enter into law and cannot be continued into the next Parliament – even if the Conservatives were to win the election and return to government. 

In theory there could be a rush to rapidly pass the Renters Reform Bill to get it onto the statute book, but this would require the co-operation of Labour. The Opposition has said it will not vote against the Bill as it currently stands – but there may simply not be time for it to finish all its stages before polling day.

No announcement has yet been made about the Bill – but more may be known in the next few working days.