Court Reform needed alongside end of Section 21, insists NRLA

The National Residential Landlords Association says ending Section 21 eviction powers in isolation, as some have suggested the new government should do, would make the plight of renters worse, not better.

The remark comes after the pledge made in yesterday’s King’s Speech when the sovereign stated that the government would give “greater rights and protections to people renting their homes, including ending 'no fault' evictions and reforming grounds for possession” through a new Renters’ Rights Bill. 

NRLA policy director Chris Norris says: “With an average of 15 households chasing every available home to rent it is vital that rental reform does not make an already serious supply crisis in the private rented sector worse. 

“The system that replaces Section 21 needs to be fair, workable and sustainable for both responsible landlords and renters. That means fixing a broken justice system which too often fails those reliant upon it.

“The Housing Minister has rightly noted that landlords need the courts to operate quickly where they have a good reason to repossess a property. This includes cases of tenant anti-social behaviour and serious rent arrears, which currently take almost seven months to process. This is far too long.

“Tenants are no better served by delays, which increase hardship, stress, and uncertainty. We need action from the Government, alongside the Bill, to ensure all are able to access justice in a timely fashion when they need to do so.

“We will work constructively with the Government as it continues to work on the detail of its plans.”

And a past president of the lettings agents’ wing of the trade body Propertymark says that while the eventual scrapping of S21 is accepted by most of the agency sector, this must come in tandem with safeguards.

Greg Tsuman - past president of ARLA Propertymark and now director of lettings at the Martyn Gerrard agency - comments: “The new Labour government has a real opportunity to actually deliver on Renters Reform, which under the Conservatives became trapped in a vicious cycle of becoming too complicated for its own good, so it is good to see that this has been included in the King’s Speech and is high on the legislative agenda from the outset. My main hope for this Bill is that that we see a version of it emerge under the new government that has been simplified and balanced, so that it actually works for all stakeholders.

“In particular, the key measure that needs to strike a fair balance between working for both landlords and tenants is of course the abolishing of Section 21, or ‘no fault’ evictions. In practice, landlords should not have an issue with this change in the rules, and I am likewise in support of getting rid of no-fault evictions as long as there are robust provisions in place that mean landlords are able to efficiently deal with problematic tenants who are abusing the system. 

“For the vast majority of the private rented sector, this is rarely a problem, but it is nonetheless a risk that landlords take on, and so they need to be protected or we could see a number of landlords exit the market. However, just stopping landlords from leaving the market cannot be the end goal. It is vital that the new government aims to encourage more private investment into the rental market to increase the number of homes available to rent in line with growing demand, which should include expanding the supply of affordable housing.

“Another measure that has previously been tipped for Renters Reform is abolishing fixed-term tenancies, which if introduced would create more problems than it would solve. Broadly speaking, both landlords and tenants want to enter long-term contracts which see tenants paying a fair price to be settled into a good quality home, as well as having peace of mind that their rent will not unreasonably increase and that the landlord has committed to not selling up during this period.

“We know that wider reform for the private rental sector is high on the new government’s agenda, and I suspect we will see further changes to the tax regime introduced later this year, possibly at the new Chancellor’s first budget statement in the Autumn. 

“If this is indeed the case, I hope to see the government re-introduce mortgage interest rate relief for landlords, in recognition that the policy to remove this has only been detrimental to the market. It has failed as a policy and served as a core reason for rents increasing by around 40% since the changes were rolled out, making it more difficult for renters to find suitable homes, let alone save up to buy.”

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