Theresa May announces she will ban section 21

I wonder if they've considered the student market? This relies on fixed term lets of, in the case of Bristol, 12 months, commencing 1 July each year. Future tenancies are marketed & signed up typically in January in readiness for the following year.
Unless there are exemptions this legislation will result in chaos in the student sector.

there will be a spate of Sec 21 evictions now as landlords sell up before this comes into force.

We are moving closer and closer to an institutionalised product or a product for the cash rich.

I’m afraid rent controls will be next.

Reply to the comment left by Piers Calascione at 15/04/2019 - 09:29
With the changes they were discussing last year (3 year tenancies) students were exempt. I expect the same for when section 21 ends

Three year tenancies are not in place yet so let’s leave these for a moment. If I let my property out on a six months AST and keep renewing it presumably I can get the tenant out at the end of any six months period without requiring to issue a Section 21 as the tenancy has simply ended ? (I’d need to give two months notice of course before the six months end date). If tenant refuses to leave I can apply to the Court for a possession order no Section 21 needed ? Am I missing something here ?

Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 15/04/2019 - 09:56
Yes. What you've described requires a Sect. 21 otherwise the tenant can legally stay on at the end of the fixed term thereby converting the tenancy into Periodic.

Reply to the comment left by Piers Calascione at 15/04/2019 - 09:29
Apparently the student market was supposed to be exempted from the long term tenancies. Where we rent (Surrey) students do not want more than one year, the UniS run sandwich courses, so every year we have a new lot. Also often after a year, some students decide to leave, change the group they live with... They will be reluctant to sign a 3-year agreement.

Reply to the comment left by Whiteskifreak Surrey at 15/04/2019 - 10:08
I'm also changing student tenants every year. My comment was not in relation to longer tenancies. This thread is to do with abolition of Sect 21. I'm concerned removing this will be incompatible with the (one year) student market, which relies on a fixed term of (in my case) 1 year.

This is such a sad day.

I am working on refurbishing a house for rental that has had the same tenant in for 21 years; she left of her own accord. However, I think this may be a candidate for sale now due to the increased risks to my business.

Frankly I am horrified by the rhetoric from the anti landlord brigade; listening to the news just now has not helped.

My wife and I have build a reasonable portfolio over 25 years and we have excellent tenants in our houses. Many stay with us long term, we have several of between 8 and 15 years. We are not mercenary on the rents, although do review them. It's not actually in our interests for a tenant to leave for the sake of a few quid a month rent, although the pace of rent increases in my area is astounding (no supply, of course).

Our tenants like us and we work with them. We are constantly modernising houses. We've moved existing tenants to better houses and even bought houses for them. We've had them cry with joy when they get the keys to a new house - new carpets, all safe, redecorated, clean, etc., etc..

The pressure on landlords is getting unbearable. There is such worry about not complying with such minor points How to Rent. I speak as a professional adviser - I am a chartered surveyor with 30 years experience and have owned letting agencies. How the man (or woman) in the street is supposed to keep up, god only knows. I assume that the idea is to create corporate only landlords.

To some extent I am in favour of professional landlords; it can be the amateurs who spoil the sector for others, but even as a professional it's getting too much to bear.

I have only once served a s21 notice where there were no extenuating circumstances as regards the tenant's behaviour. The reason - s24 tax relief! Following a review with my accountant, he identified a house to be sold. However, as a good landlord, we relocated the tenant into another house owned by one of our companies, so she did not become homeless in anyway. We even paid her removal charges. Result - one less house to rent in an area of high demand. Rents rising.

Having identified that shortage of supply is causing rents to rise, labour is getting keener on rent capping. This worries me. I am running a business. I have mortgages, outgoings, repairs, insurance, etc. and wish to make a profit - believe it or not that's why I do it.

Returning to my sadness, my wife and I (and our fellow investors) shall need to have a frank discussion today about our portfolio and whether we sell houses as they come empty. Perhaps we should s21 all of them whilst we still can!! This is not something we ever envisaged we would have to do.

Graham Bowcock

Reply to the comment left by Graham Bowcock at 15/04/2019 - 10:26So what the Government are doing here is essentially to scrap Assured Shorthold Tenancies. They are going much further than introducing minimum three year tenancies, as if May’s proposal gets the go ahead, a tenancy no longer has a length. Be it 6 months or 12 months or longer, it really doesn’t matter. Each tenancy will really be an Assured Tenancy.
If there is anything positive to bring out if this, it shows that a grocer’s daughter is more trustworthy than a vicar’s daughter.