Section 21
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Latest property news
Liberal Democrats vote to scrap Section 21
Annother attack on the private rented sector, as the Liberal Democrat party conference passes its new policy, 'F44: Protecting Private Tenants'.
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Guest Blogs
Section 21 – what’s the alternative?
The Government intends to scrap Section 21 – so, says Marc Trup, CEO of Arthur Online, it’s now about damage limitation.
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Latest property news
Row between lettings agency and tenant leads to high-profile eviction
A tenant at the centre of a much-publicised argument with a Brighton lettings agency over the condition of his rented property is claiming to have been made homeless. Jim Haughey, a young renter living in the seaside town, had complained to managing agent King & Chasemore about the poor state of his rented property’s garden after moving in. Pictures he took show dilapidated garden furniture and bird droppings. After several emails between the two parties over a two-month period, he has told local media that the problems were not sorted out and that a subsequent Section 21 notice served on him by his landlord has the hallmarks of a ‘revenge eviction’. ACORN, the local renters’ union organisation, claims the eviction notice came just a day after his final complaint about the property and that this has lead “both Jim and ACORN to believe that his eviction must be in line with the complaints he’d been issuing”, its website says. Sit-in protest But police were called when members of ACORN staged a sit-in at the lettings agency’s branch and several staff claimed to be intimidated by the protestors. “The eviction came after a back and forth of emails requesting repairs and…
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Latest property news
Government publishes updated rental forms for tenant fees ban at last moment
Updated mandatory How to Rent guide for tenants and Section 21 advice were published 60 seconds before the tenant fees ban went live on Saturday.
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Latest property news
Ending Section 21 evictions will be a disaster, agents and landlords warn
Poll of 6,500 businesses within the private rental market reveals huge worries over proposed end to 'no fault' evictions.
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Latest property news
Twitter campaign to end ‘no fault’ evictions and expose bad landlords and agents goes viral
A campiagn launched by lobbying group Generation Rent has gone viral on Twitter as it tries to get Section 21 no fault evictions outlawed.
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Features
Tenancy law update: ASTs and ‘other’ lets
ASTs (Assured Shorthold Tenancies) were introduced in the Housing Act 1988; the Housing Act 1996 amended this legislation. Frances Burkinshaw discusses the impact on today’s lettings market.
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Features
More new regulations!
Without a doubt, over the years some landlords have mistreated their tenants, says Frances Burkinshaw, which has had the effect of beginning to spoil business for the good landlords.
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Latest property news
No-fault eviction numbers declined by 5,000 last year, official figures show
The government’s recent efforts to end unfair ‘no-fault evictions’ appears to be working after the most recent figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealed a sharp decline in their use. There were 29,611 accelerated possession cases or Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’ last year, the MoJ figures show, nearly 5,000 fewer than the year before. Evictions expert Paul Shamplina of Landlord Action says the slump in no-fault evictions is largely due to the Deregulation Act 2015, which came into force in October that year. It has made no-fault evictions much more difficult and protected tenants against unfair retaliatory evictions when they report legitimate complaints about a property. Correct paperwork The act requires that tenants are served the correct paperwork when they start a tenancy including providing a copy of a property’s EPC, Gas Safety certificate, proof that the deposit has been legally protected and the government’s ‘How to Rent’ booklet. If this paperwork is not served correctly, evictions are much more difficult. Paul Shamplina says this has stopped a lot of landlords using accelerated evictions, often because they aren’t aware of the legislative requirements and then, when a tenant stops paying the rent – which make up 73% of evictions…
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Features
How to do Section 21 notices properly
The confusion has arisen as a result of legislation changes applying to residential Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements which began on, or have been renewed since, October 1, 2015. To be able to action the accelerated possession procedure in relation to AST agreements made up to September 30, 2015, the Regulations require a minimum standard of proof from landlords that there is a written AST in place, that the deposit is protected and prescribed information relating to the deposit was served on tenants. Licences are also required for HMOs or in Selective Licensing areas. In order to launch the procedure using the ‘new’ Section 21 notices, however, which are currently intended to be issued for AST agreements made from October 1, 2015 onwards, and won’t apply to older ASTs until late 2018, the Regulations impose several additional obligations on landlords which must be complied with before the eviction notice can be served. OLD AND NEW NOTICES Now I am concerned that landlords and agents are serving new Section 21 notices on old AST agreements, putting them at greater risk of having their case thrown out of court. By failing to recognise the differences between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ Regulations and…
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