Lib Dems demand urgent Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions ban

Luckily the Lib Dems and Greens are a spent force, they only have any influence (and not much then) if siding with Labour

I've often wondered if the way to help to reduce the homelessness crisis would be to speed up the court process. That way, properties currently 'blocked' in the legal system would be 'freed-up' to be let out to prospective renters currently trapped in 'temporary accommodation'.

Any increase in S21's being issued is a result of them being scrapped soon!

I know a number of landlords who are getting out of the PRS or getting rid of poor quality tenants now while they still can!

Reply to the comment left by Shining Wit at 04/03/2024 - 10:50
Spot on.

We had a tenant stop paying, then moved out, and the flat was empty for months until we got the Court Order.

read an article this weekend. Interestingly the Landlord CHOSE to give a reason for the S21's issued....

----------------
They've lived in their homes for years but now have 53 days to leave
Four families from the same road in Liverpool are facing eviction.
A nan faces being evicted from the home she raised her grandchild in after her daughter died of cancer.

In just one street in Seaforth, four families and four separate households face eviction after receiving an eviction notice from the same landlord, private housing firm Jonorra.

The Liverpool ECHO spoke to three of the families set to be evicted from their homes. They were all tearful, scared, angry and fearful of what the future holds for them with just 53 days to move out.

Bill Mitchell, 65, received his eviction notice last week having lived in the same house for the last 25 years with his wife Pamela, 63 and their son.

Through the back window, you can see a garden which he tends to every day and for hours on end. The rest of his time is spent caring for his wife and his son - both of whom have severe mental health issues and physical disabilities.

He said: "My wife is in a right state. I've broken down in tears a couple of times. I was speaking to my sister about it and I just had a panic attack
"We don't know what we're gonna do."

Mr Mitchell called his landlord immediately after receiving the eviction notice, but was told nothing more than what was on the letter. He said: "They didn't even have the decency to knock on the door and tell me. They know what each of us are going through, but they simply don't care."

Another resident, Pat, has lived on the road for a number of years and enjoys the tight-knit community and how people look out for each other. She only moved onto the road to help care for her daughter, who tragically lost a battle with cancer.

Pat now looks after her grandchild and is raising them in her daughter's old house. She said: "The landlord knows my daughter passed away, they know I'm looking after my grandchild.

"I told them the house holds a lot of memories. It's where I have all my visions of the last days of my daughter.

"It's cruel what they're doing. They have no compassion."

She broke down in tears crying when recalling trying to explain to her grandchild what is happening, adding: "I couldn't say where we would go. I don't want to raise a child in a hotel."

Section 21 evictions - otherwise known as 'no-fault' evictions allow landlords to evict a tenant with two months’ notice, without having to give a reason.

Under reforms to the private rental sector currently going through Parliament, landlords will still be able to evict their tenants if they can prove they wish to sell their property.

The issue for many families is the lack of available and affordable housing to move to.

Just last month, Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, promised to ban 'no-fault' eviction before the end of this year. The ban was also a pledge in the Conservatives’ 2019 manifesto. To date, nothing is confirmed so uncertainty continues.

Down the road, Barry lives with his partner Michelle and their two children. They both suffer from anxiety, but are happy where they live and say their kids love it.

They both describe numerous little things which make the community what it is and spoke fondly of how the man in the corner shop lets their 4-year-old-daughter behind the counter to serve them and lets her think she works there. Barry said: "It really is lovely to live around here.

"We felt safe and secure in the house, the kids feel safe and secure, but that's all been thrown out the window.

Michelle believes the stress is too much to bear. She said: "I feel like this situation is going to kill one of us.

"I'm getting palpitations and I'm having panic attacks. I thought I was going to die last night."

She said her daughter just kept saying 'don't cry mummy, don't cry mummy' when the eviction notice came through.

Barry added how he'd seen reports last year around housing reform and new legislation around energy ratings. He raised this with the landlord because they were nervous at how exposed they could be to eviction.

Landlords Jonnora said they were unwilling to add anything further to what is written in the eviction notice to the four families. Setting out their position in writing to residents, the firm said: "We realise this will come as a shock to you and we wished to explain why it is occurring.

"We had hoped that the new legislation which is being proposed would give us the flexibility to be able to sell the property if the need arose, it appears that the proposed legislation will not provide this security for us.

"We envisage that other parts of the new proposed legislation will be very hard to comply with. The minimum energy performance of a property for rent is due to be at grade C, having attempted to comply to this with a couple of properties, we realise this would almost be impossible for us to achieve and for it to be viable financially for us to continue to let property legally."

Under the new legislation, properties that have an EPC rating of less than a ‘C’ from 2025 will no longer be lettable to new tenants. As it stands the minimum threshold is an ‘E’ rating.

A landlord may legally continue to rent a property until 2028, providing it's to an existing tenant - even if the property falls below the new EPC ‘C’ minimum threshold in 2025.

In terms of ratings for Bill's house, he said the current rating is E.
The letter added: "If you would like to consider buying your home from us, we would be open to a discussion about this."

Bill sums up the response of everyone present: "We don't even have the money for a rent deposit. How can I buy a house?

"I'm 65, who is going to give me a mortgage?

"They don't understand our life. They talk to us like pieces of s**. We're just a means for them to make money.

"We are all scared stiff. We are petrified. We just don't know what the future holds for us."

"A few months ago, they put our rent up by £200 a month. It's been the toughest winter of our entire lives.

"We are just pensioners and then to take that £200 off us, on top of the rise in energy bills, was just ridiculous, but we did it.

"We were nearly through and then this happens."

Cllr Trish Hardy, Sefton Council cabinet member for communities and housing, said: "It’s really sad that the government has failed to end Section 21 evictions and people are finding themself served notice to leave through no fault of their own.

"I recommend that anyone in this situation to contact the council's housing options service to get early advice and support."

Through no fault of their own .. The reason was it was uneconomic to upgrade the property from E to a C .. having said that, this law isn't in yet (and might not be). AND if the tenants sign a waiver saying they don't want the works doing the landlord should be able to register an exemption (as will the tenants of 2 of my properties). So maybee, just maybee the S21 is unfair

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 04/03/2024 - 16:25
Sounds more like they have no confidence in the Renters Reform Bill so are using section 21 while they still can;

"We had hoped that the new legislation which is being proposed would give us the flexibility to be able to sell the property if the need arose"

Reply to the comment left by GlanACC at 04/03/2024 - 16:25
"upgrade the property from E to a C .. having said that, this law isn't in yet"

The proposed law was scrapped in September 2023.
As this landlord seems a decent one, abreast of the situation, it seems quite likely they gave at least 6 months notice of their intentions to sell and have only just now given the 2 month section 21 legal notice.

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 04/03/2024 - 21:27
Yup, thats likely .. however WHEN (not IF) Labour get in we are all buggered, Section 21 will be back on the cards immediately (with no improvements in the courts) and EPC C will reappear.

Reply to the comment left by Monty Bodkin at 04/03/2024 - 21:27
but we all know its coming...the issue is the UNCERTAINTY over when. I see the LL taking a responsible business decision in light of this. Who can blame them?

Once the GE is over, Labour will be pushing hard for the RRB asap - I think more LL's will go down this route before S21 is scrapped....it is not important if the possession is carried out or not. Its about getting it issued to retain the right to be used if needed and the picture ahead does not improve....