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Back in April 2019 the Government has launched a consultation on its plans to abolish Section 21 – the process by which landlords or their agents can reclaim properties without having to state a reason – this week the government confirmed that this abolition will go ahead.

Landlords will in future need to give a “valid reason for taking back possession of the property and would need to be able to satisfy a judge of the validity of their claim”.

The consultation is “A new deal for renting: resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants”, the consultation relates to England only and is open until October 12.

The abolition of Section 21 will be achieved by removing Assured Shorthold Tenancies from the Housing Act 1988: “Once we abolish Section 21, there is no longer any significant legal distinction between an assured shorthold tenancy and an assured tenancy,” says the consultation.

The consultation states that tenancies would not have to be open-ended, with a choice between a fixed-term agreement and a period contract that rolls over. However, one of the questions asked in the consultation is whether fixed terms should have a minimum length.

The consultation says that the Government does not support rent controls, but raises concerns that landlords may try to force tenants to leave a property by increasing the rent at the end of the fixed-term period to an unaffordable level. Legislation would prevent this by banning clauses allowing changes to the contract after the fixed term.

We must add that the impact on the private rented sector cannot be under-estimated.

A number of questions are asked as to valid grounds to reclaim a property.

Among them are:

  • If the landlord or a family member wants to use the property as their own home – if so, should this be allowed within the first two  years of a tenancy?
  • If the landlord wants to sell the property.
  • Rent arrears – the Government is considering allowing a landlord to serve a two-week notice seeking possession once there are two months of rent arrears. This would be a mandatory ground. If the arrears are under one month, then the ground would be discretionary. Critics say the consultation does not address the question of persistent rent arrears.
  • Anti-social behaviour – could tenancy agreements be strengthened to make it easier to provide evidence in court?
  • Domestic abuse could be a new ground, and could allow the landlord to evict the tenant who has perpetrated the abuse, not the whole household. The consultation also asks about protecting the victim should the abusive partner threaten to terminate a tenancy.
  • Unsafe properties: if a tenant has allowed the property to deteriorate below legal standards, should this be a ground for possession?

The changes proposed would not be retrospective – Section 21 could still be used to end existing ASTs after the legislation comes into force.

We cannot accept amendments to the Section 8 eviction process unless all grounds

The National Landlords Association, said: “The court system has been in dire need of reform for a long time, so we’re happy to see action on this.

“Any improvements to this system need to be in place, properly funded and fully functional before the Government even contemplates changes to Section 21.

“Landlords have been relying on Section 21 to compensate for the many failings of the Section 8 fault-based process, which has become too costly and time-consuming.

“If the Government want to deliver a fairer, better quality and more affordable private rental market, as they claim, they should try listening to the concerns of landlords, not just court the voting renters.”

David Smith, policy director of the Residential Landlords Association, said: “Landlords’ concerns over scrapping Section 21 remain unchanged unless and until a new system is in place that provides the confidence and certainty needed that they can regain possession of their property in legitimate circumstances” – and we would agree with Mr Smith on this!


Press Contact:

Miss. Claire White
W. Why Media
E. claire@whymedia.com