Following the government’s announcement last week that it will consult on legislation to abolish Section 21 eviction (no-fault evictions), Spicerhaart Corporate Sales managing director Mark Pilling has said it “could exacerbate the problem” already being felt in the private rented sector.

The government made the announcement in an attempt to prevent private landlords from removing tenants at short notice as, currently, after a fixed-term contract ends, landlords can issue tenants eight weeks’ notice and evict renters without a reason.

However, Pilling has argued that many accidental landlords are looking to get out of the sector following recent regulatory changes and used UK Finance’s recent data to support his view, highlighting that buy-to-let arrears are on the rise.

“If they then need to sell to get out of a difficult situation, they often need to use section 21 in order to get vacant possession to market and sell the property to achieve the best price. If section 21 is scrapped, landlords who are in this situation will have to go through the longer court process to secure vacant possession,” he said.

The managing director emphasised that “there is always a reason why a landlord ends a tenancy”, adding that typically the landlord wishes to sell their property.

“Where tenants are being evicted through no fault of their own but rather because of their landlords' circumstances, it must be very upsetting for them, but, if landlords themselves are having financial difficulties, scrapping section 21 could leave them trapped. Their lender then may have no choice but to appoint a receiver or ultimately repossess the property which puts the tenant in an even worse situation,” Pilling argued.

He concluded that Section 21 is not initiated “in most cases”, but reiterated that landlords should be able to evict their tenants when they are unable to find an alternative option.

“The UK has a housing crisis, so the private rented sector is more important than ever and with the tax changes a number of landlords are leaving the sector. By scrapping section 21 you could deter landlords even further, and that is not a good situation to be in.”

Share Story: