Ben Beadle supports abolition of Section 21 but calls for urgent court reforms

Ben Beadle claims that the NRLA does NOT oppose the abolition of Section 21, but the court system urgently needs reform to handle evictions.

During the committee stage hearing of the Renters’ Rights Bill, the chief executive of the NRLA, Ben Beadle said: “The court system is on its knees and landlords are having to wait months for a bailiff.”

Also in the committee hearing, chair of the Lettings Industry Council, Theresa Wallace warns the Bill will cause unintended consequences and increase homelessness.

The Bill will ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and make it easier for tenants with children and pets to find homes.

NRLA’s position is very clear we do not oppose the abolition of Section 21

Mr Beadle says the NRLA welcomes the Bill and recognises the government’s efforts to address housing issues.

He told the Committee hearing: “We are largely supportive of the Bill and the Minister should take credit for how quickly the government is bringing in these reforms.

“Our position has been very clear that we do not oppose the abolition of Section 21 providing the alternative is workable and fair.”

Mr Beadle says more balance is needed in the Bill when it comes to court reforms.

He said: “We need real confidence in court reform because, right now, it’s taking an average of seven months to get a property back. With the move to Section 8, this is going to become even more important.

“We also need investment in the court system as otherwise we will not be delivering what landlords or tenants need.”

Mr Beadle pointed to an NRLA survey revealing that 60% of landlords said they were less confident or not confident about remaining a landlord without proper court reforms in place.

Bill will cause homelessness

Theresa Wallace warned that the Renters’ Rights Bill will cause homelessness.

She said: “The Bill has the best intentions but it has unintended consequences and one of these will be more homelessness.

“We know that Section 21 will be abolished but it will not solve the issues in the private rented sector.

“Figures from the English Housing Survey reveal more than one million tenants in the PRS are in receipt of benefit payments and the majority of those should be in social housing. If we had those social homes we wouldn’t have the supply and demand imbalance.

“We have figures which show a 12% increase of properties on the market now which is the highest since 2014 per agent.

“The private landlord is very scared about the Bill and is exiting the sector. We need these homes in the PRS, and we’ve got to keep these landlords because tenants rely on them.”

Confidence in the PRS decreases

Mr Beadle says the Bill has missed the robust grounds needed for landlords to retake possession.

He said: “I don’t see a doubling of notice for serious rent arrears and an increase of the serious rent arrears threshold from two months to three months as either sending the right message or being fair and proportionate.

“Those tenancies will largely fail, whether it’s two months or six months. What we want to see is to avoid rent arrears from building up in the first place.

“We are supportive of a pre-action protocol where responsible landlords can signpost tenants to manage their arrears.”

Mr Beadle added: “There’s an average of 21 people chasing every property. Whatever a nip and a tuck we make, whether landlords are leaving or not, that’s only going to worsen as confidence in the PRS decreases.”

The committee hearing will also hear from tenant groups such as Shelter and Generation Rent.

Watch a clip of Ben Beadle at the Committee hearing below

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