A Technical Consultation & the Renters Reform Bill

On the 7th December 2022, the Government announced there will be a technical consultation on the consequential amendments to homelessness legislation as a result of the Renters Reform Bill, namely, the removal of section 21 evictions, assured shorthold tenancies and fixed-term tenancies.

The consultation will close at 11:45pm on 25 January 2023 and provides anyone with a vested interest to put forward their opinions on the provisions that have set out in the Renters Reform Bill.

For those who remain unaware, the Renters Reform Bill will be the vehicle for the abolition of Section 21 and will signify one of the most notable shifts in Landlord & Tenant Law since 2004.

Whilst there is a great deal of reference being made to tenants being evicted when they are served with a Section 21, the route to being evicted is a lot more complicated than serving notice. The notice advises the tenant that Vacant Possession is required and that should the tenant fail to vacate, court proceedings could begin to obtain possession. Only if the tenant fails to vacate once a court order is in place, will eviction take place. An clearly, on the basis of the notice served, the eviction would be a ‘no fault’ eviction; no grounds would have been relied upon unlike the section 8 notice.

Abolishing Section 21 indicates that an alternative needs to replace it and so we will witness the amendment of the Section 8 notice. We do not know exactly what this will look like - there has been a lot of discussion around additional grounds being added and existing grounds being amended, however, even though the Consultation asks many pertinent questions, the process of change is not a quick one.

The aim is to see how the current process has an impact on homelessness and if so, what can be done to alleviate that problem. How will this significant change in help the genuine cases where tenants are struggling and wish to be rehoused by the local authority? Will this help local authorities provide housing? Will the removal of the section 21 give landlords the reassurance that if they need to sell for personal financial reasons, they are able to do so?

There are a great may questions that need answering and there are many points to consider ti ensure these changes are properly executed and do not add a further burden to the sector.