Following a recent government announcement which proposed reforms to Section 21 notices, two lettings sector experts have advised that the eviction process could change under such rules.
During the recent Queen’s Speech, the government made known its plans to scrap Section 21 “no fault” eviction notices in the next Parliamentary session through a pending Renters’ Reform Bill. Currently, landlords can issue Section 21 eviction notices to tenants without having to provide a reason; critics have pointed out how the notices can be used by landlords to evict tenants who request repairs or are complaining about their living spaces.
But experts have weighed in on the issue, arguing that dropping Section 21 will not affect the rising number of evictions.
“Currently the vast majority of tenancies end because the tenant chooses to leave, not because the landlord is evicting. Landlords want tenants to stay in their property long term, and only serve notice as a last resort,” said Landlord Action founder and Hamilton Fraser chief commercial officer Paul Shamplina.
“We know from our experience at Landlord Action that the majority of Section 21 notices are issued because a tenant is in rent arrears, or because a landlord wishes to sell or move back into their property. In many cases, landlords could have used Section 8 for rent arrears or anti-social behaviour, but their lack of faith in the associated court process, which is undoubtedly more protracted, is why many always revert to Section 21,” added Shamplina, who serves as the “eviction expert” on Channel 5’s Evicted! Nightmare Tenants show.
Shamplina further explained that “abolishing Section 21 will not significantly change the number of evictions;” instead, it will change the process of how evictions are handled and ultimately would lead to knock-on consequences for the number of open court cases, as well as the costs for which the tenant is liable for.
The eviction expert also suggested that the other type of eviction notice, Section 8, would become the norm following Section 21’s scrapping. This means that landlords who previously wrote off arrears and used Section 21 would now probably go after the money through Section 8 to the detriment of the tenant, Shamplina pointed out.
“There are various aspects of Section 8 that need considerable revision before Section 21 can be fully abolished. I believe it will need to be a phased ending to allow the courts time to clear the backlog from the last two years and for all grounds to be considered and revised appropriately.”
PayProp UK, a proptech company, also had something to say about Section 21 being taken down.
“It’s important to note that reforming evictions is going to cause some upheaval and there will be a significant bedding-in period,” said PayProp UK managing director Neil Cobbold, who also mentioned that proptech companies have a key role in the transition to a lettings market sans Section 21.
“That’s why it’s vitally important that agents have their evidence-gathering and record-keeping processes in place, so they can move as seamlessly as possible from the old way to the new, in which agents and landlords will likely have to rely on a beefed-up version of Section 8.”
Cobbold has recommended that “comprehensive, automatically generated reporting based on live transactional information” makes a “real difference” when it comes to offering evidence when an eviction is called for.
“The burden of proof for agents is going to be higher once Section 21 is abandoned,” the managing director said. “Having to demonstrate proof of arrears, for example, speaks to the need for robust record keeping and evidence gathering tools.”
Cobbold noted that Section 21 – which was virtually unused during the pandemic – is starting once more to be used more frequently again.
“So, if and when it is scrapped, it is likely that there will be a higher number of claims already in process, which will make some kind of bedding-in period even more vital.”
“Ultimately, tenants’ interests are best served by a rental market where landlords have confidence to invest, giving tenants a choice of properties to rent at a competitive price due to a balance of supply and demand,” added Shamplina.
