Nov

Landlords ‘gutted’ as Johnson confirms ‘no-fault’ evictions to be banned…

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Section 21:

Landlords will find
it more difficult to regain possession of their rental properties in
future as the Tories confirm their commitment to removing the Assured
Shorthold Tenancy (AST). Labour has already committed to a similar
move.

The AST was
introduced when Margaret Thatcher de-regulated the private rented
sector (PRS) with the 1988 Housing Act, introducing the concept of a
time limited tenancy where residential landlords could regain
possession at the end of an agreed tenancy term, if they so wished,
without needing to give a reason.

By confirming the
withdrawal of the legislation, The Conservatives hope the move will
appeal to a growing army of young renters, and in particular those
with families, as renting has become more common.

The current Section 21 process would be replaced with a beefed-up section 8 system, where landlords must a prove in court a beach of contract, against a specific set of grounds for eviction.

Homelessness
charities and some politicians have been campaigning for years to
change the rules, following similar moves in Scotland and the
Republic of Ireland. The original Tory initiative to remove Section
21 was announced under Theresa May’s Government, but now it seems
Boris Johnson has confirmed that this will be carried through, to the
dismay of many landlords.

Landlords are concerned that given the uncertainty surrounding their ability to remove bad tenants under such a regime, their businesses will become untenable and they will be inclined to sell-up. This, landlord groups maintain, will lead to a shortage of properties to rent and higher rents.

Section 8 is an
adversarial court based system, unlike Section 21 were possession
orders can be obtained without going to court, and landlords argue
that with an already overloaded county court system, evictions will
become protracted and expensive.

David Smith, of the
Residential Landlords Association, told The Daily Telegraph:

“While any new
system should protect tenants from the minority of landlords who
abuse the current rights, it is important that good landlords can be
confident that in circumstances such as tenant rent arrears or
anti-social behaviour they can swiftly and easily regain possession
of their property.”

View Full Article: Landlords ‘gutted’ as Johnson confirms ‘no-fault’ evictions to be banned…