Are S21 evictions the symptom not the cause of homelessness?

I don't even understand what the slogan is supposed to mean, and I'm a landlord, so the slogan may not mean much to a lot of people.

Something like '99% of landlords are not evil. Support good landlords, prosecute bad ones' might be better!

I think S21's have had their time, simply because (and I don't have any stats to back this up) many tenants just ignore them on the advice of the council, GR and Shelter and the like and the landlord still has to go through the court process and bailiffs to get them out.

There is no real incentive to leave 'on time' any more as the tenant knows they are fireproof and they will struggle to get another property.

The chap who services my gas at my properties rents, he got an S21 (Chinese owners wanted to sell the property) but carried on paying the rent (so no CCJ possible), and he moved out in his own sweet time about 5 months after the S21 expired.

I reckon as the inevitable is coming we bite the bullet and hope the new 'improved' S8 will at least have more reasons for the S8 being issued on it, so GR and Shelter will be able to see how many evictions are for rental arrears.

I think this might have been something that could have been tried a few years ago but feel we are way past that now.
There have been many attempts to get this point across over the years but we are competing against the Government's own agenda and nothing has worked.
I think we are all pretty much aware now that government policy is to move away from the PRS towards a different model involving build to rent by large investors such as pension funds.
The press are merely being fed what the government tells them.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 03/09/2024 - 10:48
I disagree, BTR are not really interested in the 'low end' of the market - they want people who pay and look after the properties. The government want the private PRS to look after those the councils don't want but still want to soak the private PRS with tax.

BTR will NEVER house all 4m renters

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 03/09/2024 - 10:57
and not all renters want to live in the B2R high rise glass eco coffin box style apartments in the middle of a city.

Where do families go? 2/3/4 bed houses, with gardens, local schools, green spaces, and communities are wanted too. Who provides these?

Housing is going down the road of literally putting people into boxes. Not what anyone wants, but its the only thing available.

Those that can't provide for themselves are going to be left hanging, those who secure something that suits now will have no choice than to stay put and adapt accordingly. They can't afford to move upwards and there is nothing available...

I agree that BTR is not a complete replacement for the PRS but I think we should face up to the fact that the size of the PRS is deliberately being shrunk by government policy and BTR is part of the alternative government strategy. Maybe huge new housing estates too - not just flats. No steps are being taken to keep landlords onboard - quite the opposite.
I think that perhaps the PRS is becoming more regulated because the government intend to use the part that is left for social housing and will find ways to achieve this.

Section 21 notices are not now and never have been the cause of homelessness. It is like saying that redundancy notices are the cause of unemployment. Government doesn't forbid redundancy notices to prevent unemployment. Nobody with any sense should expect that forbidding s21 notices will reduce homelessness.
The statement that s21 notices are the cause of homelessness is an example of a post hoc fallacy. The Latin phrase is : post hoc, ergo propter hoc - "after this, therefore because of this". It may be true that many, perhaps the majority of people who are homeless have received a s21 notice. However, the reason they are homeless is because there are not enough properties in the areas people want to live at rents they can afford.
If a landlord uses s21 to evict a tenant and lets the property to another tenant, the net effect on homelessness is, logically, zero. One out, one in. Homelessness arises because of several factors, principally increased population caused by immigration, insufficient new houses being built, increased rents caused by supply and demand and a loading of costs onto landlords* and, more recently, some landlords who don't need to earn rent taking their properties off the market because they were tired of being vilified and persecuted.
So, the next time you hear someone say s21 causes homelessness, explain to them the post hoc fallacy.
*As our friend Mick Roberts wisely says: "At the end of the day, the tenant pays for everything". If you want tenants to have a Rolls Royce experience, they must pay a Rolls Royce price.

Reply to the comment left by Robert at 03/09/2024 - 12:03
Robert, if the government wants the PRS to shrink then they are going about it the right way. In Derby hundreds of new flats have been built and are manged by so called housing associations. Yes, they are basically sardine boxes and the kids play on a community playground, no gardens.

Give it 20 years or so and these will be the new sink estates - paid for by BTR