The Bill, introduced in Parliament this week, will introduce a ‘decent homes standard’, as well as abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions. Tenancies will move to a simpler structure where all assured tenancies are periodic, to allow tenants to challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of eviction.
According to government briefings, the Bill will also introduce ‘more comprehensive possession grounds so landlords can still recover their property’ and make it easier to repossess where tenants are at fault, such as with repeat rent arrears or anti-social behaviour.
The Bill will strengthen protections against ‘backdoor eviction’ by allowing tenants to appeal excessively above-market rents. A Private Rented Sector Ombudsman will be established to provide a less adversarial system for resolving disputes. A privately rented property portal will be launched to help landlords understand their legal obligations and demonstrate compliance, and tenants will be given the right to request a pet in the property, which the landlord must consider and cannot unreasonably refuse.
However, David Smith, head of property litigation at JMW Solicitors, said it was an opportunity ‘squandered’.
‘The county courts are, metaphorically and literally, collapsing under the weight of existing work and the Bill will likely increase their workload. Likewise local authority enforcement is under-funded and under-staffed.
‘The Bill will add to their burdens with little new funding. Out of this the much-maligned private rented sector is expected to accept more ill-considered regulation and house an increasing number of people to make up for consistent failure lasting over a decade to build sufficient housing.’
According to the government, the overall number of privately rented properties has doubled since 2004—peaking in 2016 and remaining roughly stable since at about 11 million private renters and 2.3 million private landlords in England. However, about one quarter of private rentals do not meet basic standards, leading to damp, cold and dangerous homes in many cases.
Gary Scott, partner at Spector Constant & Williams, said: ‘Landlords have voiced concern that removal of the no-fault route for eviction leaves in place a possession process which is significantly flawed both in terms of the current permitted grounds for possession and the fact that the court process is wholly unfit for purpose.
‘In some cases, the process from serving notice to obtain possession has taken in excess of 12 months. In cases of rent arrears of at least two months, this means potentially 14 months of receiving no rental income without being able to obtain possession.’
Scott Goldstein, partner at Payne Hicks Beach, said: ‘It takes a court order to evict a tenant and the workload of the courts is higher than ever.
‘Many landlords are honest people who rely on rental income to pay their mortgage. Abolishing no-fault evictions will give unscrupulous tenants another way of delaying, as cases where a landlord has to prove the tenant is at fault take many more months, and can cost thousands more, than no-fault eviction cases.
‘An honest approach by the government would have seen an overhaul in the court system administering evictions but that would have required serious investment so I am sad, but not surprised, that it has not happened.’
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