It is probably too early to provide a detailed comment about how the removal of Section 21 evictions will impact the renting and mortgage markets. The government is clearly doing this to provide more security to tenants so they can only be evicted with good reason. However, will this have the unintended consequence of restricting tenancies for some, because landlords may not want to take on a tenant that they are not 100% certain about? Ultimately, landlords can still evict for non-payment of rent, or for damage done to their property; but only by using a Section 8 eviction, which is a far longer process than Section 21, and can be challenged in court by the tenant.
The Government has also said that it will amend rights for landlords who wish to evict tenants if they want to either sell the property, or move into it themselves, as well as speeding up the Section 8 process.
We are yet to see how this will impact on lenders, although they are usually led by the legal advice they receive from the solicitor when the application is made. As long as lenders are able to obtain vacant possession in the event of a repossession,then this should not affect the mortgage market.
Anything that can be done to improve the experience of tenants has to be a good thing, and offering greater stability, especially for renters with children, is clearly important. However, it still needs to be fair to the landlord, and to allow them to run their property in a way that allows fairness and flexibility on both sides. Ideally the best relationship is one where the landlord and tenant can have an adult conversation about the contract, and where no one has to resort to Section 8 or 21 evictions; however when all other options have been explored, the legal mechanisms should be as quick and as simple as possible – whether removing Section 21 will allow this remains to be seen.
**HMO enforcement: coming soon to a Council near you. Read More**
Alistair Hargreaves
Financial Consultant - Arc & Co.
T: +44 (0) 203 205 2129