10:00 AM, 12th October 2022, About 2 years ago 26
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News that the government is looking to ‘shelve’ its plans to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions has led to more organisations making their feelings known.
The report in yesterday’s Times saw several organisations expressing an opinion – and more have now joined the fray.
Alicia Kennedy, of the campaign group Generation Rent, said: “No-fault evictions mean that families can face the disruption and upheaval of moving home and often schools with just two months’ notice.
“It means unscrupulous landlords can bully tenants into accepting shoddy conditions or unaffordable rent increases. This law has no place in modern society.”
Rachael Sinclair, Nationwide’s director of Mortgages and Financial Wellbeing, said: “If the government fails to push ahead with the proposals outlined in the Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper, it will miss a vital opportunity.
“Rental regulations are crying out for an overhaul and now is the time to act as the cost-of-living crisis further exacerbates the challenges facing the sector, primarily poor conditions.
“Dropping the proposals at this point is short-sighted and will only add to people’s concerns during what remains a worrying time for many.”
Osama Bhutta, the director of campaigns at Shelter, said: “Make no mistake, a government U-turn on banning no fault evictions will pour fuel on the housing emergency and make thousands homeless.
“The Prime Minister has no mandate to shred manifesto commitments and turn her back on 11 million private renters. Nor does she have the right to betray over a million households stuck on social housing waiting lists by slashing the already tiny number of social homes that get built.”
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has also expressed its anger that the Government could shelve plans to abolish no-fault evictions.
Ross Matthewman, the head of policy and campaigns, said: “This is incredibly bad news for renters.
“It’s been a long three years since the Government first announced its intention to ban no-fault evictions, and the measures outlined in the Queen’s Speech earlier this year pointed to real progress.
“Reports that these proposals could now be dropped are deeply worrying.”
However, Mary-Anne Bowring, the group managing director of property management firm Ringley Group, said: “Ending no-fault evictions will have been another blow for buy-to-let landlords, who are already facing a tightening noose of red tape and eroded returns thanks to a raft of regulatory and tax changes combined with rising interest rates.
“As a result, many are looking to sell up and leave the market, reducing the supply of available properties at a time of heightened demand.
“With a weakening sales market, rental demand is only likely to increase further.”
Tenants’ union Acorn described the plan is an ‘absolute disgrace’.
On Twitter, the group said: “The union has campaigned for section 21 evictions to be scrapped for years as part of the Renters Reform Coalition.”
The group’s vice chair Jonathan Hardy tweeted: “This is an extremely dangerous move from PM Liz Truss, which once again shows that she is just interested in looking after the richest in society.
“Acorn and the rest of the housing movement will not take this lying down. We will be mobilising to fight for the safe, secure and affordable homes everyone deserves.”
Nimrod Ben-Cnaan, the head of policy at Law Centres Network, said: “The government says that it wants to support people through the cost-of-living emergency. Its actions, however, say the opposite, and louder.
“By shelving plans to end section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, it is leaving millions of private renters to fend for themselves this winter, as bills and rents increase.”
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Reluctant Landlord
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Sign Up8:16 AM, 13th October 2022, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 12/10/2022 - 23:45then the tenants will definitely get screwed over. Yes they might not have an issue with a private Landlord possibly having to sell in the future, but they will be treated like a chicken in a battery farm. You can have your piece of space BUT you will be grateful for it at all times and you will pay dearly for it.
Corporates want their rent and profit. They will respond to every requirement of making the property better insulated, increasing the EPC, increasing costs of maintenance, paperwork etc with a definitive rent increase. Private landlords take a more pragmatic approach int he main, many not raising rents until they liteally have to.
Corporates have no such qualms.
We all know how that ends....
Accommodation Provider
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Sign Up11:48 AM, 15th October 2022, About 2 years ago
Can someone give statistics ? How many s21 evictions did/do actually take place. No landlord evicts good normal tenants. Can politicians stop discriminating and abusing landlords please.
Accommodation Provider
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Sign Up12:03 PM, 15th October 2022, About 2 years ago
The issue remains housing supply the government must give more planning permissions and stimulate building. That does not cost them a penny. The discussion needs to change away from this pointless headbutting which tenants always win as there are more of them and they represent more votes and that is the only thing politicians look at. Politicians are devious, not landlords. Hear the vile words Gove and BBC and drama loving media utter to landlords. Landlords by now are working for government and tenants for free whilst facing enormous risks. The risk reward is terrible for landlords but they are locked in red tape and have friction cost of taxes and stamp duty and cgt so cannot enter and exit other than without delay. Pensions crisis visible and can be seen real-time..... private rental sector is on same crisis but that takes longer to show and be visible.hope Times journalists and politicians read these blogs but I hear they are all in the bar inside their workplace we pay for from 4pm not doing much and majority "working from home" yeah right
Rod
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Sign Up14:19 PM, 15th October 2022, About 2 years ago
iHowz have always argued against removing S21 - especially with current uncertainty over timely possession due to need to strengthen S8 grounds and for the courts to process cases in a prompt and consistent manner.
Nothing proposed so far, however, would provide adequate means for removing tenants who's antisocial behaviour blights the lives of fellow tenants and neighbours.
It's nearly a year since iHowz published their proposal to provide some recompense for serving S21 on tenants who have responsibly enjoyed the property as their home for a number of years, including a sliding scale of notice based on tenure.
https://ihowz.uk/the-unintended-consequences-of-losing-the-section-21-notice/
We wrote to MPs earlier this year, highlighting our concerns and the unintended consequences of repealing S21. The paper also includes details of our proposal.
If you share our concerns, we urge ALL landlords and agents to write to their MP this weekend and point them to our proposal.
Old Mrs Landlord
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Sign Up14:19 PM, 15th October 2022, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Seething Landlord at 12/10/2022 - 23:45
I think the main reason is that the corporate landlords they favour particularly are those who build to let rather than buy to let. This helps to get them off the hook for failing to honour their new-build commitments year after year. Why accept blame for your own failings when you can scapegoat and stigmatise buy-to-let private landlords? It takes the heat off them and directs public (especially tenant) opprobrium onto landlords.
Old Mrs Landlord
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Sign Up14:26 PM, 15th October 2022, About 2 years ago
Reply to the comment left by Accommodation Provider at 15/10/2022 - 11:48
I don't have the numbers but I do know at least 80% of S21s are issued in the social rent sector and that over the past few years private sector S21s have fallen considerably. (First statistic from several sources including the court system and second from Paul Shamplina, Landlord Action).