Jeremy Corbyn wants to scrap ‘No Fault’ evictions in England and Wales

Firstly, as Steve Masters has said, many landlords fall back on section 21 because section 8 has many disadvantages, added to by an overworked court system, whereas the legal enforcement of section 21 is more straightforward for a landlord who has properly complied with legislation.
The RLA are doing a survey which, among other aims, is asking for landlords to state when and why they might have used section 21 - the survey can be found here.
I also agree that most landlords only evict for a reason - usually a breach of the agreement by the tenant, but sometimes, for example, because they are being forced to sell the property - for example, this is happening a lot lately because of landlords affected by clause 24.
Under the new system introduced in Scotland in December, there are some mandatory eviction grounds that give landlords limited no fault eviction rights, such as if they need to sell the property or move into it themselves. However, a landlord cannot bring an eviction even under these grounds without a court hearing.
With any contract, there has to be a means for all parties to change their minds after a certain time has elapsed and particularly as most private landlords are small investors, there has to be a means for them to get out of the contract.
People's circumstances can change - there are countless reasons a landlord might have for needing to end a rental agreement (aside from a tenant's breach) not just one or two.
Removal of no fault evictions in Scotland is likely to deter lenders, meaning small time landlords will be removed from the industry, leading to a shortage of housing.
Before no fault evictions were introduced, private rental accommodation was hard to come by, and the limited housing there was was often of a poor standard - I lived in 3 such privately rented places as a kid, and they were not happy times.

Reply to the comment left by Mandy Thomson at 28/12/2017 - 14:11
I’ve often wondered about the legal position of Scotland’s unbalanced contract which is now unfairly weighted one side, which I understood not to be theoretically legally possible.

I also believe a LL need give 3mo notice, whereas a tenant can give just 28 days (which could even be the day following the initial signing).

Reply to the comment left by Mandy Thomson at 28/12/2017 - 14:11
Correction - the link to the survey is https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SM65DJW

This intervention by Jeremy Corbyn has been based on flawed research critiqued a few months ago here:

Who hijacked the JRF project “Poverty, evictions and forced moves”? - Property118
Four people from the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research (CCHPR) wrote the report,…
PROPERTY118.COM

Thin edge of the wedge, I will also take bets on the return of rent controls.
Already in the statute books here. I am having to think Scotland as that famous cinema in London which hosts all the premier s. Whatever showcases there will be coming to an LA near you.
Nothing like not learning from the past .

I have always said it started going wrong when tenants were handed their housing benefit, leaving landlords anxiously waiting to receive their monthly rent. Also, why do local authorities not insist that their tenants downsize accordingly once their families reduce as the children leave home? Forget bedroom tax. Make a couple or single person move into a 1 bedroom, thus freeing up their 3 bedroom house for a family that actually needs it

The RLA have just published their own article on Jeremy Corbyn's announcement. In their article, in addition to the points already raised here they point out that:
- the vast majority of evictions are in fact by social landlords, who made 294% more claims for possession than private landlords in Q3 of 2017 (figures from Ministry of Justice)
- they quote figures from the English Housing Survey showing that private tenancies last four years on average
- section 8 is not fit for purpose, with evictions taking on average 41 weeks
The full RLA article can be read here.

Reply to the comment left by David Smith at 28/12/2017 - 12:32Yes, this would drive out the have a go, blundering property investors, but also small landlords who play by the book and small professional landlords who rely on mortgages. While many PRS detractors scorn "leveraged" landlords, how do they expect such people to finance their property businesses? There are very few small businesses (in all industries) that don't require financing, why would housing be different?
I've said many times, why not turn landlords financing requirements to tenant's advantage by legislating for lenders to assess BTL borrower's knowledge of their legal requirements as part of the mortgage application, and if they fail that part of the assessment they are then required to use an approved agent (and of course all agents would need to be properly accredited and licensed, as with Rent Smart Wales).

Reply to the comment left by Paul Shears at 28/12/2017 - 14:05
there are conditions to evict a tenant in Scotland, rent arrears, but also to give 3 months notice if you want to sell . However, surely a no fault is better for the rogue tenant who then doesn't need to tell the council. This is to benefit the council and govt who will save money as they don't need to rehouse rogue tenants. You have to now identify why you are evicting them. It will also take longer and more costly for landlords. I have just evicted a bad tenant who smashed up my flat, it took me 9 months , the neighbours had to live with his terrible behaviour and the damage all that time. The govt should be ashamed n Scotland. Protecting a bad tenant while 5 families with young children lived in fear.

there are conditions to evict a tenant in Scotland, rent arrears, but also to give 3 months notice if you want to sell . However, surely a no fault is better for the rogue tenant who then doesn't need to tell the council. This is to benefit the council and govt who will save money as they don't need to rehouse rogue tenants. You have to now identify why you are evicting them. It will also take longer and more costly for landlords. I have just evicted a bad tenant who smashed up my flat, it took me 9 months , the neighbours had to live with his terrible behaviour and the damage all that time. The govt should be ashamed n Scotland. Protecting a bad tenant while 5 families with young children lived in fear.