The government are indefinitely delaying the proposed ban on “no fault” evictions.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has told MPs that the ban on section 21 evictions will not be enacted before a series of improvements are made in the legal system.
Labour has accused the Government of betraying renters with a “grubby deal” to win the support of Tory backbenchers.
However, Goodlord CEO William Reeve sees some sense in the government’s decision. He comments: “This is an unexpected announcement that could mark a potentially huge change for the sector and the trajectory of the bill. Under these conditions, it could take years for scrapping Section 21 to actually come into force”.
“Interestingly, although still overall very opposed to the change, landlords had recently started to soften slightly in their position to the scrapping of Section 21. According to our research, in 2022 71% of landlords believed the abolition of Section 21 would have a negative impact on the sector. In 2023, this had dropped to 62%”.
But Reeve is keen to stress that the pressures on the courts service has long been flagged as a major issue with regard to these reforms, and it’s encouraging that the government has recognised this.
He adds: “We are hearing about hundreds of proceedings issued annually, and we see on a weekly basis how the justice system in England is letting landlords and tenants down and accentuating the pressures the sector is under”.
Reeve therefore supports the government’s ambition to digitise the courts: “We need the private rented sector to operate under modern technology. We also urge the government to consider creating something rental-sector-specific, like Scotland’s First Tier Tribunal for Property and Housing, for England”.
He concludes: “The industry must stay on its toes as this Bill continues to evolve during its journey into law. Until this is on the statute books, agents and landlords should keep up to date on the latest details and prepare for all eventualities.”
Vouch product lead Frankie Malpass also sees some benefits in the evolution of the bill.
“One of the key areas that the government has recognised is the impact of periodic tenancies on private student renters. Students generally have different renting needs compared to the wider private rental sector – with a greater requirement for cyclical tenancies – so the blanket switch to periodic tenancies doesn’t serve students or their landlords well”.
He adds: It’s therefore encouraging to see that this issue has been recognised by the government by the introduction of a process to complete the tenancy at the end of the academic year, ready for a new cohort of students to move in, enabling students to line up their housing in advance.
“However, more specifics will be needed to ensure the concerns of student and student landlords have been truly addressed.”
