How the end of no-faults evictions will impact landlords

Over recent times, the term “no-faults evictions” has become a very contentious one. Those opposed to the concept paint a picture of families being dragged out of their homes by ruthless landlords who want to raise the rent as high as possible regardless of the consequences.

Those in favour point to the fact many landlords resort to “no-faults evictions” even in cases when there is clear fault because the alternatives are more complicated and therefore are both more time-consuming and more expensive.

For the time at least, however, the political pendulum appears to be swinging in favour of banning “no-faults evictions” or Section-21 evictions as they are more correctly known. The question then becomes how the end of no-faults evictions will impact landlords and sadly the answer to that is currently unclear.

Assuming there is no change to the current laws

If Section 21 is revoked with no other change to the current laws, then the only way for landlords to evict tenants would be under Section 8 of the Housing Act.

This allows landlords to repossess a property either under pre-advised grounds or because of a breach of the conditions of the tenancy. There are currently two big problems with this.

Firstly, as has previously been mentioned, the process for Section 8 evictions is both lengthy and expensive. Even if this issue is rectified, there is still a further, significant problem. As currently stands, Section 8 does not allow landlords to evict tenants to sell a property.

At current time, landlords can use Section 21 to empty a property for sale, but if Section 21 is revoked without any further changes then landlords will have to (try to) sell a property with the tenants still in residence. This could potentially be a huge issue since it will basically mean that the landlord can only sell the property to other investors.

Potential ways forward

In fairness, it is highly unlikely that Section 21 will be repealed without Section 8 being amended to allow a landlord to take possession of a property should they wish to sell it.

The government has to realize that to do so would have the potential to stop the private rental market dead in its tracks as no sane investor would buy into an investment knowing that they could potentially be trapped in it against their wishes and no sane lender would advance capital on a property it would be effectively impossible to repossess in the case of borrower default.

The issue lies more in the need to have a straightforward way for landlords to evict problem tenants. In principle, the government could just sharpen up the current system and, basically, make it work, but doing so would require a lot of resources.

Right now, courts in some areas are already struggling to manage their existing case load of Section 8 evictions so it’s hard to see how they could possibly manage if they had to take on what would formerly have been Section 21 evictions as well.

There has been a suggestion of creating a “housing court” to deal with this workload, but, arguably, a more pragmatic suggestion would be to allow evictions to proceed without a court hearing where there is clear evidence of fault.

Author Bio

Indlu are lettings agents in Denton offering a no let, no fee lettings service with a variety of services to choose from.

EAN Content

Content shared by this account is either news shared free by third parties or sponsored (paid for) content from third parties. Please be advised that links to third party websites are not endorsed by Estate Agent Networking - Please do your own research before committing to any third party business promoted on our website. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Homebuyers saving over £4,000 in SDLT despite increase

Homebuyers saving over £4,000 in stamp duty despite threshold increase, by opting for this particular property type The latest research from over-50s property specialists, Regency Living, reveals that homebuyers opting for a park home instead of a traditional bricks-and-mortar property are an average of £4,316 better off due to not having to pay Stamp Duty…
Read More
Breaking News

Industry reacts to latest Gov HousePrice Index

The latest index shows that: – The average monthly rate of house price growth in May rebounded to 1.1% following the -2.7% decline seen in between March and  April. The average annual rate of house price growth in May was up 3.9%. As a result, the average UK house price is now £269,000.   Colleen…
Read More
Cozy Pet Cat Tree Grey
Breaking News

Renter’s Rights Bill pet u-turn creates more questions than answers

The latest U-turn in the Renter’s Rights Bill (RRB) concerning pet ownership may temporarily protect landlords from the cost of pet-related damage, but it leaves major questions unanswered, warns Inventory Base, the UK’s leading property inspection platform. As confusion grows around whether the proposed pet deposit amendment will pass, the industry is left in limbo,…
Read More
Breaking News

Landlords See Higher Net Returns

Landlords See Higher Net Returns Despite Rising Start-Up Costs and Falling Buy-to-Let Incomes New research from Dwelly, one of the UK’s leading lettings acquisition and success planning experts, reveals that, despite an increase in start-up costs and a reduction in total buy-to-let income, the average UK landlord has seen an improvement in net returns when…
Read More
Breaking News

London lettings market gains momentum in June

London lettings market buoyed by surge in supply and growing renter activity, Foxtons data shows   Heightened rental activity in June, with applicant registrations rising 21% month-on-month Supply surged to its strongest level in four years, with almost 45,000 new listings recorded in June, an 18% increase on May   Average weekly rent climbed 1%…
Read More
Breaking News

The Renters’ Rights Bill edges ever closer to becoming law

Changes to overhaul the private rented sector across England have been a long-held ambition from Labour and has paved the way for the planned introduction of the Renters’ Rights Bill. Over the last twelve months the legislation has been working its way through Westminster and has been subject to oversight and debate within the House…
Read More