Labour ‘will ban Section 21 without bolstering courts’, lawyer warns

The new Labour government will introduce a ban on Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions early next year, a property lawyer claims.

David Smith, a partner with law firm JMW, says ministers will not wait for the courts to improve before abolishing Section 21.

The Conservative government also wanted to ban Section 21, but it was lost when the Renters (Reform) Bill never became law. Tory ministers had said the move was dependent on the backlog in courts easing.

No waiting

A Renters Rights’ Bill was introduced in this week’s King’s Speech, which will get rid of Section 21 when it becomes law.

Smith says: “I would anticipate the government seeking to have this bill finished by the end of the calendar year with parts of it coming into effect in early 2025.”

“I do not expect that there will be any waiting for court reform before removing S21 as the Conservative government was persuaded to do.”

Courts overwhelmed

Propertymark warned that if the new Labour Government goes ahead and abolishes Section 21 without bolstering the courts, the justice system will be overwhelmed.

The trade body told the Government it will have catastrophic consequences for the already over-loaded courts, causing long delays in cases.

And with the “raft of regulatory and financial pressures placed on landlords in recent years”, this could be “a further nail in the coffin”, the trade body said.

Keep a balance

Propertymark said the Government must ensure that the latest legislation keeps a balance between protecting tenants’ rights and guaranteeing that landlords have a suitable legal route to repossess properties without swamping the courts.

Section 21 notices allow ‘accelerated’ claims to skip the court system. Without them, there are grounds for possession under ‘Section 8’ instead, but that means many more cases have to go through the courts.