No fault evictions to be banned?

Under proposed plans, the government announced that landlords in the private rental sector in England will no longer be able to evict tenants on no fault grounds. 

Housing secretary James Brokenshire has announced that there will be a consultation on the “no fault” eviction procedure in a bid to help improve “stability” for tenants and would go some way to prevent unfair evictions.  

As the law currently stands, landlords are able to use an accelerated possession procedure under section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 and evict their tenants without needing a reason for doing so. This is used to bring a fixed term assured shorthold tenancy to an end and affords the tenant two months’ notice. This is often known as a “no fault” eviction. 

However, following on from the recent raft of tenant friendly legislation, the government have now said that removing the “no fault eviction” would offer tenants greater security. We anticipate that this will be unwelcomed by many landlords who may be deterred from letting their properties if it means that they cannot quickly and easily evict tenants should they wish to or may increase rents to protect themselves against the need to undertake expensive and cumbersome possession proceedings. 

Boyes Turner lawyers are specialists in this area and are able to provide advice to both landlords and tenants in respect of these issues.