Landlords, however, warn that the bill still lacks vital detail
A bill prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants with no justification is set to be published today as part of the government’s plans to overhaul the private rented sector in England.
The Renters’ Reform Bill, to be introduced to Parliament today, will abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, “empowering renters to challenge poor landlords without fear of losing their home.”
“Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe and cold homes, powerless to put it right, and under the threat of sudden eviction,” Levelling Up and Housing Secretary Michael Gove, stated.
“Our new laws introduced to Parliament today will support the vast majority of responsible landlords who provide quality homes to their tenants, while delivering our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.”
Though the bill was drafted primarily to help 11 million renters benefit from “safer, fairer, and higher quality homes”, it aims to make it easier for landlords to repossess properties from anti-social tenants.
Responding to the publication of the Renters’ Reform Bill, Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), said that while landlords welcome the government’s pledge to ensure they can effectively recover properties from anti-social tenants and those failing to pay rent, more detail is needed if the bill is going to work as intended.
“Ministers must develop a plan to improve the speed and efficiency with which the courts process possession claims,” Beadle pointed out. “Although the government has accepted NRLA calls to digitise cases, staff numbers need to increase in the court system as well to meet the needs of these reforms.”
Beadle added that responsible landlords should be assured that when Section 21 ends, where they have a legitimate reason, they would be able to repossess their properties as quickly as possible.
“Without this assurance, the bill will only exacerbate the rental housing supply crisis many tenants now face,” he stressed.
A survey of landlords conducted by research consultancy BVA-BDRC, on behalf of the NRLA, found that 67% saw tenant demand increase in the first quarter of 2023. Despite this, 33% plan to cut the size of their property portfolio – which is the highest level of planned disinvestment from the sector that the BVA-BDRC has recorded.
🚨 NEW research for the #NRLA by @BVA_BDRC reveals the number of #landlords planning to sell rented properties has reached its HIGHEST rate. [1/2] pic.twitter.com/U8hYguXiAJ
— NRLA - National Residential Landlords Association (@NRLAssociation) May 11, 2023
According to the Rightmove Rental Trends Tracker report for Q1 2023, the number of properties to rent is down by 46% compared with pre-pandemic in 2019, while the number of people enquiring about a property to rent is 173% higher compared to the same period.
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