EXCLUSIVE: Covid has left no-fault evictions ‘dead in the water’, says Shamplina
The restrictions on how landlords and letting agents can evict via a Section 21 notice have made them obsolete, the TV star claims.
TV star and evictions expert Paul Shamplina has told The Negotiator that he believes the Covid evictions ban is allowing the government to quietly phase out ‘no fault’ evictions through the back door without scrutiny.
The housing minister Chris Pincher has twice said that the government will look at banning Section 21 notices once the pandemic has eased, but Shamplina says its current ban rules mean such evictions are now pointless.
“The current measures in place including the six-months landlords must wait to give notice of an eviction mean Section 21 notices are effectively dead in the water, and by the time Covid has passed and we’ve returned to normal, I think the government will quietly dispose of this kind of ‘no fault’ accelerated eviction and – to be honest – I don’t think anyone will notice once the Covid dust has settled,” he says.
Referring to today’s report from The Lettings Industry Council on the subject, he adds: “That’s why the TLIC’s four proposals are so important; a balance of power between landlords and tenants need to be struck.”
Mediation
“Some of the measures, such as the mediation process and the bailiff process reform can be introduced on relatively short-term planning.
Shamplina, who is founder of evictions firm Landlord Action, says he is confident that with faster and easier access to justice, banning both criminal landlords and anti-social tenants from the PRS, as well as the improved communication between landlords and tenants through mediation, both parties’ trust in the PRS will increase.
“Providing greater legal certainty will lead to further growth within the PRS, as more private landlords will be willing to rent out their properties and tenants will be provided with a broader range of properties they can choose from,” he says.
