10:09 AM, 1st March 2024, About 10 months ago 83
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Council leaders from across the political spectrum have asked the housing secretary, Michael Gove, to support an amendment to the Renters (Reform) Bill that would give tenants more time to find a new home if they are evicted.
Sky News says it has obtained a letter, signed by 103 local authority leaders, including the leader of Rishi Sunak’s constituency council in North Yorkshire, that urges Mr Gove to increase eviction notice periods from two months to four.
The letter, which was co-ordinated by the campaign group Renters Reform Coalition, says that this change would ‘give tenants more security and time to find a new home which suits their needs in the event they are evicted’ and would ‘reduce the number of people claiming homelessness support following the end of a private tenancy’.
The Renters (Reform) Bill, which is currently going through Parliament will ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions which allow landlords to reclaim properties without giving a reason.
The campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, Tom Darling, told Sky News the Bill ‘has many positive aspects – but it is still insufficient to address the scale of the crisis in the private rented sector’.
He said: “The two months being proposed, like the status quo, will leave renters frantically scrambling to find a suitable new home in time, with many ending up presenting as homeless to their local council when this search comes up empty.
“Not only will increasing notice periods provide more security for England’s 11 million private renters and alleviate some of the suffering in our housing system, it will also provide some much needed respite to local authorities buckling under the growing cost of temporary accommodation.”
However, under the Bill, landlords would only be able to evict tenants in England for specific reasons, such as selling their house or having a relative move in.
The Bill would keep a two-month notice period for these cases, which the Renters Reform Coalition argues is not enough for many people to secure alternative accommodation.
The coalition says that the end of private tenancies is the main cause of homelessness, with recent data showing that more than a quarter of eligible claims for homelessness support were made because a private tenancy had ended.
The letter states: “As you will know, Section 21 evictions are a leading cause of statutory homelessness – many renters are unable to find new accommodation in the two months available after being served an S21 eviction and end up being housed in temporary accommodation.”
The number of households living in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2012, reaching record highs, including the highest number of homeless children – more than 138,000 – since records began.
Last year, councils in England warned that spending on temporary accommodation was threatening to ‘overwhelm’ their budgets.
Analysis from the Local Government Association (LGA) last year showed that ‘at least’ £1.74bn was spent supporting 104,000 households in the year ending in March – the highest amount since records began in 1998.
And this week, London Councils warned that several London boroughs are facing bankruptcy trying to meet homelessness bills.
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PETER harvey
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Sign Up6:10 AM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Keith Stead at 01/03/2024 - 11:49
yes why are landlords being held responsible for government failings in the housing sector. too many people seeking housing, lack of adequate housing - but basically too many families seeking accommodation.
has just taken me 2 years to get a tenant out and despite massive rent arrears to the council and council tax arrears they have bent over backwards to accommodate them - no responsibility for their actions or debts. this of course was not the first time - just keep being housed and debts written off and they are just one family. no attempt to recover these debts by the council just re-housed via a housing association. given chance after chance
peter harvey
PETER harvey
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Sign Up6:19 AM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
what the councils fail to understand or do not want to understand is that the lease is a legal document and that the tenant should move out on that date regardless of whether the council have a property to offer the tenants - but the tenant is told to remain in the property until the bailiffs arrive - this is where it is all wrong and should be stopped
ph
Happy housing
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Sign Up9:01 AM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by PETER harvey at 13/03/2024 - 06:10
Same boat arrears, plus damages . Taken the mic. They don't care how much its cost the LL, just put a trace on them if u have a ccj and keep chasing all u can do.
Happy housing
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Sign Up9:53 AM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TJP at 12/03/2024 - 23:30What do you mean invented a deposit?
TJP
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Sign Up12:02 PM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Happy housing at 13/03/2024 - 09:53My tenant was short cash when we drafted the tenancy agreement. I allowed him to take the flat with no deposit. The tenancy agreement reflected this. - More fool me, obviously !! There was a line through the deposit section. Both of us signed there was no deposit. The judge stated that just because the agreement said there was no deposit did not mean this was so. i.e. I might have falsified the document. My tenant with no proof that he paid, of course told the judge he had paid a deposit. The judge deferred for 1 month to allow both of us to prove our contentions. 1 month became 5. 5 months became 2 years. The case was never re-heard because I was granted possession via a section 8. (different judge!!!) But as far as I'm concerned, the original judge was corrupt. He deliberated scuppered my section 21 for his own personal left wing reasons by inventing a deposit for my tenant. I will never go to court again. As I write my tenant is still there, 2 and a half years later. I'm 5 months waiting for the bailiff. Still no date.
GlanACC
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Sign Up12:38 PM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TJP at 13/03/2024 - 12:02
Why dont you use the sheriffs to evict, once you gave a posession order you can transfer the case to the high cour t and use the sheriffs (who are private bailiffs) Try calling then 0333 001 5100 and they will explain everything
TJP
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Sign Up12:47 PM, 13th March 2024, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 13/03/2024 - 12:38
Had a call from my solicitor this morning. A formal complaint has been raised. They say they will get back within 10 days. If I get fobbed off again, I will phone the sheriffs, as you suggest. But I already paid £670 last October. And will I be out of one fire into another ? I have no faith in anybody in the legal system anymore.
moneymanager
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Sign Up16:58 PM, 15th March 2024, About 9 months ago
Under a 2018 proposal, many governments including ours, should I say 'Westminster", agreed to 'coordinate' the illegal migration of SIX HUNDRED MILLION from essentially the southern to the northern hemisphere, that's what Gove means, whether he realises it or not, when he speaks of "levelling up", Mr Darling needs to wake up.
dolly day dream
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Sign Up9:27 AM, 30th March 2024, About 9 months ago
10 months to get a couple out, from sect 21 to eviction.....i sent them details of other suitable properties but they just played the system whilst letting their children scriblle over the walls in marker pen.......how long does he suggest?......oh i am the demon landlord it must be my fault
dolly day dream
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Sign Up9:29 AM, 30th March 2024, About 9 months ago
Reply to the comment left by TJP at 13/03/2024 - 12:02
it really isnt worth the stress