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Abolishing section 21
From BBC News:
Private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short notice without good reason under new plans.
The government says it wants to protect renters from “unethical” landlords and give them more long-term security.
Section 21 notices allow landlords to evict renters without a reason after their fixed-term tenancy period ends.
The National Landlords Association said members were forced to use Section 21 because they had “no confidence” in the courts to settle possession claims.
But an organisation representing tenants said the plans were “a vital first step to ending profiteering from housing”.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-47927706
And see also:
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2019/04/the-end-of-section-21/
https://twitter.com/nearlylegal/status/1117769645963055104
i think it’s all very difficult
will abolishing this one section solve all issues, or create other issues that haven’t been thought of?
i think it’s all very difficult
will abolishing this one section solve all issues, or create other issues that haven’t been thought of?
It certainly will be an enormous change. The BBC article doesn’t really put across what a big deal this is, because it isn’t just the abolition of “no fault evictions” as such - but really it is to give most private renters indefinite tenure except when there are good grounds for the property to be recovered by the landlord - whereas for as long as I have been alive, the default has been for tenants to be given tenancies for a year or six months.
We were all a bit shellshocked really - I am trying to think of the right comparison in benefits terms. It’s almost like waking up one inconspicuous Monday morning and turning on the news to find that the SSWP has - with no fanfare or lead-in - decided to abolish the WCA and consult on what happens next. Its been such a massive part of the landscape for so long that you struggle even to picture what things might look like without it.
Of course there will be all sorts of knock on effects and one hopes that the consultation will pick most of these up.
i think it’s all very difficult
will abolishing this one section solve all issues, or create other issues that haven’t been thought of?
It certainly will be an enormous change. The BBC article doesn’t really put across what a big deal this is, because it isn’t just the abolition of “no fault evictions” as such - but really it is to give most private renters indefinite tenure except when there are good grounds for the property to be recovered by the landlord - whereas for as long as I have been alive, the default has been for tenants to be given tenancies for a year or six months.
We were all a bit shellshocked really - I am trying to think of the right comparison in benefits terms. It’s almost like waking up one inconspicuous Monday morning and turning on the news to find that the SSWP has - with no fanfare or lead-in - decided to abolish the WCA and consult on what happens next. Its been such a massive part of the landscape for so long that you struggle even to picture what things might look like without it.
Of course there will be all sorts of knock on effects and one hopes that the consultation will pick most of these up.
Elliot wasn’t born.
I however, was.
You could involve the Fair Rent officer, to stop a landlord charging an extortionate rent, or an environmental health officer to enforce a repair…...as you always knew that the tenant would not then suffer retaliatory eviction as a consequence.
It will empower tenants somewhat, but as the balance is overwhelmingly with landlords, under the current regime. That is not a bad thing.
Biggest losers bad tenants/bad landlords.
Snuck this one under the radar but the consultation on abolishing section 21 was issued over the weekend.
With section 21 removed, under the Housing Act 1988 as amended, all future tenancies will be assured, either as fixed-term assured tenancies or contractual periodic assured tenancies. This means that in future, the default position will be that a tenancy is a periodic assured tenancy unless the landlord and tenant have agreed a fixed term in writing. A tenant under an assured tenancy may not be evicted unless the landlord can provide grounds under Schedule 2 of the Housing Act 1988 or at a break point in the tenancy contract where a break clause has been agreed between the landlord and the tenant”
Various other areas also up for consultation including FTT procedures.
Does anyone know whether this is likely to be carried over into the next Parliamentary Term?
Yours
an anxious tenant
Does anyone know whether this is likely to be carried over into the next Parliamentary Term?
Yours
an anxious tenant
We were talking about this yesterday and we’re not entirely sure what will happen (as with so many other things).
It isn’t actually draft legislation yet, it is just a policy goal - so it won’t be immediately effected.
Policy can always change, but at present and as far as I understand it, both main parties support abolition at this point.
House of Commons Library briefing -
The end of ‘no fault’ section 21 evictions
This paper provides background on the use of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 to evict assured shorthold tenants on a ‘no-fault’ basis. The Government is consulting on its abolition; the paper considers the implications for landlords and tenants and early reactions to the Government’s proposals.