Is this the end of "no fault evictions"?

Today the Government announced that the long-promised “no fault” evictions will finally be placed before Parliament as part of an overhaul of the private rental sector in England.  They had initially promised this within their manifesto before the last general election, but it was later deferred.  However, today’s announcement of the Renters (Reform) Bill will aim to deliver their promises.  So what has been announced?

1. The Government is planning to abolish section 21 notices which give landlords the right to evict their tenants without having to give a reason;
2. Reduce notice periods that landlords have to give where tenants have been irresponsible, e.g causing damage to property;
3. Give a new ombudsman powers to provide quicker and cheaper solutions for tenancy disputes;
4. Apply the decent Homes Standard to the private rental sector to improve the quality of homes; and
5. Tenants will be given the legal right to request a pet, which landlords cannot unreasonably refuse.

Current system

Currently the system allows a landlord to serve a tenant with 2 months’ notice to leave their property.  No reason is required and once the 2 months has expired, the landlord can apply to the Court for a Possession Order if their tenant has not left.  This can be followed by an eviction, which will ultimately require the tenant to leave.

New system

The abolition of the Section 21 notice will mean that landlords must give a reason why they want their tenant to leave.  In theory, this seems sensible, why shouldn’t tenants be given a bit more security over their homes? However, it also ignores the realities of many landlord’s situations.

As a solicitor who often acts for landlords, I don’t have many clients who come to me about evicting a tenant for no reason. However, those reasons are often personal to them and not because the tenant has done anything wrong.  For example, if a landlord wants to sell the property because their personal circumstances have changed or they want to be able to carry out renovations to a property but need vacant possession to be able to do so.  If a landlord is forced to commit to renting a property to someone until they either wish to leave or they fall into rent arrears, I believe this long term commitment will put many landlords off from renting and ultimately create more of a housing stock problem. 

Stopping Possession Orders after complaints

There is much talk in the news today about the new system stopping landlords from serving a notice to a tenant once they have made a complaint about a property and this being a big issue in the sector.  I have no doubt that this may happen to some tenants and honestly this must be very frustrating.  However, what the news publishers are not mentioning is that there are already controls in place to prevent this from happening.

A Section 21 notice is not valid if it comes in response to a genuine claim by a tenant about disrepair.  If a landlord tries to go to Court and get a Possession Order, the tenant can defend the claim on the basis that it has only been brought because of their complaints and is likely that the Possession Order will not be granted and the notice will be deemed invalid.  Indeed, as many landlords would attest to, the Courts are completely biased in favour of tenants and will often give the benefit of the doubt to a tenant and will often adjourn proceedings to allow the tenant to gather evidence of their disrepair if they wish to pursue that claim.

Conclusion

I feel sorry for many of my clients who often struggle to obtain a Possession Order unless the tenant is amenable to leaving voluntarily.  The new rules which will require the landlords to prove fault will be difficult to Judge.  How bad does a house need to look before a Judge will grant a Possession Order?  This subjective decision will hard as a solicitor handling these types of claims to advise on.  I may well advise a client that it looks like the tenant has caused some considerable damage, but a Judge may not agree that it is sufficient or warrants throwing the tenants out. 

I also question whether it isn’t a step too far to tell people who may own a property that they rent how long they must rent to someone or that they must allow pets to be allowed.  Surely it is their home and they can do what they wish with it to some extent?

It remains to be seen whether this act will pass.  I anticipate a lot of pushback from the landlord sector, who already feel that landlords are being pushed to the edge in terms of the requirements on them.  I also wonder the impact on the rental market, which is already in major crisis due to lack of supply.  Watch this space.

If you have a query about a Landlord and Tenant dispute, please contact Claire Darby on 0208 949 9500 or cdarby@pearsonhards.co.uk.