Warning issued as plans to abolish S21 evictions and fixed-term tenancies proceed

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A group representing the entire PRS has given a strong warning to the Government that its ‘Fairer Renting’ white paper proposals need a significant rethink.

The Lettings Industry Council (TLIC) includes representatives from the NRLA, 30+ leading national letting agents, surveyors, property managers, redress and deposit protection schemes and consumer groups including Generation Rent and Which?.

Its new report is designed to set alarm bells ringing in Whitehall, highlighting how official plans to both abolish Section 21 evictions and replace fixed-term tenancies with periodic ones will “negatively impact shared households, lead to significant job losses in the sector and prejudice applicants who require a guarantor”.

TLIC instead says that if Section 21 evictions are to go, fixed-term tenancies must remain, pointing out that the Welsh Government U-turned on its periodic tenancy plans recently.

The report also warns that unless its proposal is adopted, even more landlords will quit the sector making the current problems with rental stock even worse.

And as LandlordZONE reported exclusively last month, student landlords in particular are horrified by the proposal to switch all tenancies to periodic given the way student rentals work.

Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action and Chief Commercial Officer at Hamilton Fraser, who has been working closely with TLIC to find workable solutions to the abolition of Section 21, adds: “Landlords need to have quick and simple routes for gaining possession of their property, and the courts need to improve to facilitate this.

“In addition, without bailiff reform, enforcement will be even more challenging. We believe the suggestions in this report help strike a better balance between the need to give tenants more security and offering landlords greater confidence in the system.”

Theresa Wallace, (main pic) Chair of TLIC, says: “It is vital to maintain the supply of desperately needed properties to rent, to prevent a further rise in homelessness and living costs which will inevitably affect the most vulnerable tenants on the lowest incomes.

“Although it is growing, the Build to Rent (B2R) sector predominantly provides one and two bed apartments but it is family homes that the PRS has a severe shortage of. B2R is not currently the solution to filling this gap.

Exiting landlords

“We are calling for any changes to the PRS to be very carefully considered and thorough impact assessments conducted, so as to ensure that the proposed changes do not cause more landlords to exit the sector at a point where property is so desperately needed by tenants.”

But her report also urges Ministers to consider improving the way the PRS works including the courts, council tax payments, the proposed Decent Homes Standard, enforcement of rogue landlords, how the landlord ombudsman and property portal will work, how selective and additional licence schemes can be improved.

TLIC is also calling for landlords and agents to given more time to adjust to the Renters Reform Bill, which is expected next year.

You can read the full report HERE

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