With Section 21 going, how do landlords gain easy control of their property?

Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 will soon be abolished and comes with mixed emotions.

Section 21 enables private landlords to repossess their properties from tenants on AST’s (Assured Short hold Tenancy) without having to give reason for issuing of the Section 21. This eviction method has become increasingly popular, with some landlords issuing the notification to tenants after 4 months of the tenancy commencement date, giving 8 weeks’ notice as permitted by law, thus enabling the eviction after the initial 6 month period.

Previous research has shown that tenants have grown concerned that a Section 21 can be issued at any time meaning they’re reluctant to exercise their right to request repairs or challenge rent increases due to the ease of which landlords can evict them.

The abolishment of Section 21 legislation was announced on the 15th April 2019 with the government announcing; ‘Private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants from their homes at short notice and without good reason.’ This was followed by a consultation process which ran between July and October 2019. The consultation paper proposed the abolition of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

In response to this change, Section 8 legislation will be strengthened. The consultation paper proposed measures to strengthen and extend the grounds for possession which are preceded by the serving of a section 8 notice, particularly where the property is needed for the landlord’s personal use or if they wish to sell the property. To make it easier for landlords to regain property in the event of damage or rent arrears, the government has also promised to expedite the current Section 8 court process (which currently takes 145 days on average).

Here at Baytree Property, we’re naturally concerned about the abolishment of Section 21 as it will affect private landlords. We’re always committed to finding the right tenants and support steps to promote a thriving private rental market.

However, when you take away the landlord’s confidence that they can gain possession of their property in a timely and efficient manner, the private rental sector slowly disappears.

Although we’re uncertain when the removal of Section 21 will take place, all we can do is hope that Section 8 legislation supports a landlord’s right to gain possession of their property where necessary.