On 10th May of this year we posted an article regarding the Government’s commitment to abolishing no fault evictions. That commitment has now moved one step closer to reality with the Government’s publication of the White Paper A Fairer Private Rented Sector, which outlines exactly what the Government is proposing.
The White Paper confirms that the Government is proposing to improve the standard of rented homes, and give local authorities’ more powers to enforce against landlord’s providing substandard accommodation.
The Government is also proposing to create an information hub for landlord and tenants, as well as create a new Ombudsman scheme to increase landlord accountability. Furthermore, the aim is to create more focus on alternative dispute resolution and deal with the significant delays within the court system which are currently having an increasingly detrimental impact upon both landlords and tenants (with some possession hearings currently being listed for 2023).
Landlords will also be prevented from using blanket bans on certain types of tenant, and will have to consider requests from tenants to keep pets. Landlord’s will also be more restricted in terms of rent increases and will no longer be able to use rent review clauses. Tenants will also be given more rights to challenge rent increases that the seem to be excessive and unreasonable.
In terms of possession proceedings, the abolishment of the no fault eviction process (Section 21) remains top of the agenda.
If you are a landlord with tenants approaching the end of their contractual term, acting sooner rather than later to recover possession of your property is clearly advisable. Section 21 will not be around forever, and the countdown to its eradication has clearly begun.
For more information, please see our previous post on this subject CLICK HERE
If you are a private rental landlord and would like further advice regarding any of the issues contained within this article, please contact the Dispute Resolution team on 01245 701581.
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
