Section 21 removal will cause chaos in courts

Section 21 removal will cause chaos in courts

0:04 AM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago 38

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A leading industry body is warning the Justice Secretary that the removal of Section 21 will cause harm to the legal system.

Propertymark has written to Alex Chalk about the level of widespread concern from landlords and letting agents about the capacity of the courts to handle possession cases.

The Renters Reform Bill plans to abolish Section 21 and extend the grounds for possession under Section 8 which will mean even more cases have to go through the courts.

Lack of justice for landlords and tenants

Nathan Emerson, chief executive officer at Propertymark, points out the concerns from landlords and letting agents about the waiting times they could face in court to gain back possession of the property.

He said: “Since the Bill was published in May 2023 landlords and letting agents have expressed fears that they could end up left in limbo, uncertain how long they will be expected to wait for a hearing and ultimately, possession of their property.

“Failure to fund the courts properly means a lack of justice for landlords and tenants.”

Removal of Section 21 takes place alongside essential court reform

The industry body says without improving capacity in the court system proceedings to gain back property will be lengthy and expensive.

Propertymark argues that reforms to the court system are needed to speed up the process.

Mr Emerson said: “While most tenancies are ended by the tenant, landlords need to be confident that a property can be recovered quickly if the tenant has caused damage, stopped paying the rent or if the landlord’s circumstances change.

He added: “By adequately resourcing and reforming the existing courts system this will speed up the system, increase expertise in the decision-making process and ensure greater consistency with reduced costs.

“To improve access to justice for both landlords, letting agents and tenants, it is imperative that the removal of Section 21 takes place alongside essential court reform.”

The full letter to the Justice Secretary can be read here


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JaSam

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8:26 AM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

I haven't read the Bill but is there something in there for an accelerated or online order for mandatory grounds on section 8? Sure the court only really needs to hear the discretionary grounds. I don't disagree the court system is not fast enough and this would cause more burden.

GlanACC

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8:33 AM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

No change there then, S21 is already causing chaos in courts. We need a proper housing court, and I am sure landlords would be happy to pay a levy to fund this.

TJP

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10:15 AM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

My Section 21 claim was heard, after a 7 month wait Sept 2022; deferred by another 5 months to Feb 2023. Three days before the Feb 2023 hearing, I was notified it was deferred again, by one year and two weeks to Feb 16 2024. The court system is a joke!! I now have a section 8 hearing in October. I'm holding my breath.

JaSam

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13:53 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by TJP at 17/08/2023 - 10:15
Nightmare. I hope your section 8 is only on a mandatory ground.

moneymanager

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14:47 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

There must be a certain irony in talking of the "damage to the legal system" alongside an image of "blind justice", this exemplifies the chasm between law and justice and furthers the capricious nature of the former and the falling of the balance of justice, it's not accidental, all part of the great demolition.

Peter

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14:58 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

The point everyone seems to be missing is: why was Sec 21 bought in in the first place. Becauseit was needed to evict errant Tenantsand allow Landlords to regain their Properties. The need for it remains more than ever.

Bristol Landlord

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16:30 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

The Government can predict exactly the effects of cancellation of S21 evictions and then placing the resulting S8 eviction burden on the legal system!
They know it will be an utter disaster for independent landlords and private tenants.
That’s exactly why they’re doing this.
The Government in forcing the sector to use the deeply flawed Ombudsman system (where a caseworker can throw out your complaint if they feel like it) and the equally flawed Court system (where a judge can make a completely barmy decision against all the facts and evidence and in favour of the tenant) is simply distancing themselves from the blame.
Does anyone deny that the government can influence things behind the scenes?
When it all goes wrong the Government will simply say “it’s not our fault, we have created and put into place a robust system to deal with landlord and tenant disputes.”
The system is being set up to fail, so after tens of thousands of Landlords have sold up and there are hundreds of thousands of desperate private tenants looking for a place to live, the corporations such as BlackRock can swoop in and take over the sector.
It is crystal clear this is not a case of Government incompetence, it is a case of Government corruption.

GlanACC

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16:36 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Bristol Landlord at 17/08/2023 - 16:30
Nope, large corporations like Black Rock won't swoop in and take over the sector as a) they won't have a million properties and b) they don't want to deal with the rubbish tenants that a lot of us deal with, they certainly won't want benefits tenants (they would cherry pick the best tenants). This means landlords will have to be extra careful now in selecting a tenant. - as there are so many tenants after each property this means you can eliminate, foreigners, single mums with a child, people on LHA, people with pets. This is illegal but you could easily justify the tenant you pick without giving a reason for eliminating the others.

Bristol Landlord

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16:46 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by Bristol Landlord at 17/08/2023 - 16:30As a case in point, I recently had to sue my sister because she stole our parents home and investments. Suing someone is a complicated and expensive endeavour. My solicitor had to engage a barrister and I asked the barrister why it was so expensive to get justice in the UK. He remarked that the legal process was slow and expensive because it was deliberately set up like that. The Government wanted deliberately to discourage ordinary people from clogging up the court system. They wanted it so only the wealthy could afford it.
So for the Government to force the PRS to use the courts system when it doesn’t really need to is clearly signalling a hidden agenda.

Bristol Landlord

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16:55 PM, 17th August 2023, About A year ago

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 17/08/2023 - 16:36BlackRock is an asset and investment manager.
Build to Rent will be an investment sector which investors can access via REITs.
BTR corporations will build and run the properties.
BlackRock will make loads of money guiding investors into their preferred UK BTR funds.
George Osborne after he left his government gig was for a time an “advisor” to BlackRock.
How much did BR pay George Osborne for his post government “advice”?
This is serious government corruption at the highest levels.
Connect the dots, people!!

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