Calling on Boris to now strengthen landlord repossession rights

The National Landlords’ Association says the Conservative government must start a new housing court and reform Section 8 “fault-based” evictions to end the logjam of repossession cases that will follow the abolition of Section 21 “no fault” evictions

The new Boris Johnson led Conservative government must take urgent action to deliver on its pre-election promise to strengthen landlords’ rights of possession by reforming the law courts if it is to stave off a crisis in the private rented sector, the National Landlords Association warns today.

In the wake of the Conservative Party’s victory in the General Election, the NLA, which represents 42,000 landlords, calls on Mr Johnson to introduce a new dedicated housing court and to redefine the terms of Section 8 “fault-based” evictions.

If this doesn’t happen, the NLA predicts there will be a big reduction in the number of houses available for rent and a disproportionately negative impact on the supply of housing for people receiving state benefits. NLA-commissioned analysis carried out recently by Capital Economics using our most recent members survey found that if the government abolishes Section 21 without additional reforms:

• The supply of private rented houses in England would fall by 20% (960,000 dwellings) because landlords would sell-off their rented properties to house buyers rather than other landlord
• There would be a 59% reduction in the number of private rented dwellings available to households which claim local housing allowance or universal credit (770,000 fewer dwellings) because landlords would choose not to rent their property to people with an unreliable record on paying their rent
• The number of homes facing rental increases would amount to 600,000 homes (13% of the sector) because the reduced supply of rented housing would force up rental costs

In its manifesto, the Conservative Party confirmed that if it won the election, it would press ahead with plans to abolish Section 21 which allows landlords to pursue fast-track “no fault” evictions, but it also said that it would “strengthen landlords’ rights of possession”. The NLA urged the Conservative government to strengthen landlords’ rights in two ways:

1. Create a housing court that would unblock the logjam of possession cases that would almost certainly build up when Section 21 is abolished.
2. Update the terms of Section 8 which allows landlords to pursue cumbersome “fault-based” evictions so that landlords can swiftly reclaim their property when tenants fail to pay their rent or commit antisocial behaviour.

Richard Lambert, the NLA’s chief executive, said: “We congratulate Boris Johnson on his return to No. 10 Downing Street as prime minister of a new Conservative government. We now stand ready to work with him and his team on the reform of housing regulations in a way that does not do long term damage to the supply of private rented housing.

“No-one should be in any doubt about the dire consequences for the supply of private rented housing in this country if the government abolishes Section 21 without any effort to reform the law courts and strengthen landlords’ rights of possession. There would be nearly 1 million fewer houses available for rent and the people who would be hardest hit would be some of the most vulnerable in our society: those in receipt of state benefits.”

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