Government set to end no-fault section 21 evictions

The government have announced plans to end Section 21 no-fault evictions, meaning landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants at short-notice without good reason.

Under current laws, landlords can use Section 21 to evict tenants from their property with as little as two months’ notice once their fixed-term tenancy period has ended.

What are the proposed changes?

The new proposed laws would scrap Section 21 and amend Section 8. Section 8 can currently only be used to evict tenants that have broken the terms of their tenancy. This would be amended to include several other reasons yet to be disclosed.

It takes much longer for a landlord to regain possession of their property under a Section 8 eviction as they must go to Court and provide evidence to resolve the issue.

Why ban Section 21?

The government has called for the ban on Section 21 to offer renters better stability and protect them from being unfairly evicted.

This comes after a survey by Citizen’s Advice found that tenants that made a formal complaint against their landlord had a 46% chance of being evicted within the next 6 months.

Problems for landlords

Whilst protecting tenants from unfair and unreasonable evictions is a very positive step. The banning of Section 21 evictions could cause significant problems for landlords dealing with problem tenants.

Currently, landlords can evict nuisance tenants who engage in anti-social activities like drug use and playing loud music quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

The National Landlord’s Association have voiced concerns that axing Section 21 evictions would leave landlords “virtually powerless” when it comes to tackling a tenant’s anti-social behaviour.

Evicting troublesome tenants under Section 8 is a lengthy and stressful process that can become costly for the landlord and may not even be successful without adequate evidence.

Many landlords struggle to gain witness statements from neighbours as they may be too afraid to testify in court.

If you are a landlord and require help or advice with evicting a person occupying a property, get in touch with our team here at Clearway.