Section 21: What could the new repossession process look like?

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As you may have heard already, the government has announced its plans to abolish the Section 21, the so-called no-fault eviction. The Housing Secretary James Brokenshire has however promised that the Private Rented Sector would remain a ‘stable and secure’ market for landlords and that the new legislation will ‘include measures that provide landlords with additional safeguards to successfully manage their properties’. He said these reforms would include the strengthening of Section 8 and the court reform, two issues the RLA has been campaigning on for some time.  However, at this stage the government hasn’t provided us with any indication as to what the new repossession process could look like in England. The only thing we can do is look at the changes that Scotland has been faced with since December 2017 when the Scottish equivalent of Section 21 – Section 33 – was scrapped and the new 18 mandatory and discretional grounds for repossession introduced. While there is no guarantee this government will follow the lead of the Scotts, it could give an indication of what is to come. Under the Scottish model grounds for repossession are as follows: 

Mandatory grounds

A mandatory ground means that if the Tribunal agrees that the ground exists, the tenant must leave the property no matter what their argument is.

1. Landlord intends to sell the let property
This ground applies if you plan on putting the property up for sale within three months of a tenant moving out.
2. Property to be sold be lender
This ground applies if your mortgage lender wants to repossess the property and sell it.
3. Landlord intends to refurbish the let property
This ground applies if you want to carry out major works to the property that are so disruptive a tenant wouldn’t be able to live there at the same time.  
4. Landlord intends to live in the let property
This ground applies if you want the tenant to move out of the property so you can move in.  
5. Landlord intends to use the let property for non-residential purpose
This ground applies if you want a tenant to move out so you can use the property for something other than a home.
6. Let property required for religious worker
This ground applies if the property is held to be available for someone who has a religious job like a priest, nun, monk, imam, lay missionary, minister, rabbi. The ground only works if the property has been used for this purpose before.
7. Tenant has a relevant criminal conviction
This ground applies if the tenant is convicted of an offence punishable by imprisonment that involved them either:
• using the property for illegal reasons
• letting someone use the property for illegal reasons
• committing a crime within or near the property
8. Tenant is no longer occupying the let property
This ground applies if the property isn’t being used as a tenant’s main or only home.

Discretionary grounds

A discretionary ground means that even if the Tribunal agrees that the ground exists, it still has to decide whether it is reasonable to issue an eviction order.

9. Landlord’s family member intends to live in the let property
This ground applies if a member of your close family plans to move into the property as their only or main home for at least three months.
10. Tenant no longer needs supported accommodation
This ground applies if the tenant moved into the property because they had a need for community care and they’ve since been assessed as no longer having that need.
11. Tenant has breached a term of the tenancy agreement
This ground applies if the tenant hasn’t complied with one of the terms of tenancy.
12. Tenant has engaged in relevant antisocial behaviour
This ground applies if the tenant has behaved in an antisocial way to another person. The First-tier Tribunal will consider the behaviour, who it involved and where it occurred to decide whether to issue an eviction order.
13. Tenant has associated in the let property with someone who has a criminal conviction or is antisocial
This ground applies if the tenant lets someone into the property and they behave in an antisocial way.
14. Landlord has had their registration refused or revoked
This ground applies if you aren’t registered as a landlord in the local council area where the property is located.
15. Landlord’s HMO licence has been revoked
This ground applies if the HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) licence for the property has been removed and keeping all the tenants in the property would no longer be legal.
16. An overcrowding statutory notice has been served on the landlord
This ground applies if an ‘overcrowding statutory notice’ has been served on you because the property is overcrowded to the extent that it may affect the health of the people living there.

Grounds which could be mandatory or discretionary

The final two grounds can be either mandatory or discretionary, depending on the circumstances of the case.

17. Tenant is in rent arrears over three consecutive months
This ground applies if the tenant has been in rent arrears for three or more months in a row. If they still owe at least a month’s rent by the first day of the Tribunal hearing, the ground is mandatory, and the Tribunal must issue an eviction order. The Tribunal must also be satisfied that the arrears were not due to a delay or failure in the payment of a relevant benefit. If they owe less than a month’s rent (or are no longer in arrears) by the first day of the Tribunal hearing, the ground is discretionary, and the Tribunal will decide whether it is reasonable to issue an eviction order. In deciding whether it is reasonable to evict, the Tribunal will consider whether the tenant being in arrears is due to a delay or failure in the payment of a relevant benefit.
18. Tenant has stopped being (or has failed to become) an employee
This ground applies if you let the tenant move in because they were your employee (or were going to be), and now they aren’t.

Press Contact:

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

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