Minister reassures that eviction process ‘will be improved’
Hurried comments to reassure follow widespread alarm that abolishing Section 21 notices would be ‘devastating’ for landlords and agents.
The Government has rushed to reassure landlords and letting agents that its recently announced plans to reform tenancies will go hand-in-hand with measures to streamline the court eviction process.
Housing minister Heather Wheeler (left) has made the assurance in a blog written for the Residential Landlords Association, which follows significant criticism of its proposed move to abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notices.
Secretary of State for Housing James Brokenshire originally announced the measure on 15th April, claiming that it represented “one of the biggest changes to the private rental sector in a generation”.
DEVASTATING EFFECT
But many senior figures shot the plans down including David Cox of the Association of Residential Letting Agents who said it would be ‘devastating’ for the sector.
Wheeler has now said that she recognises that landlords and letting agents find the current processes ‘unduly slow and complex’ and has pledged that “changes in the law, the court process, and resourcing will need to go hand in glove with tenancy reform, to meet these concerns.”
She also says that, “The vast majority of landlords provide their tenants with a decent home and good quality service” and that “few landlords evict good tenants without a sound reason.”
The RLA is now surveying the landlord community to seek their views on what is required for them to have confidence that they can repossess property swiftly and effectively for legitimate reasons.
“As the RLA has long argued, landlords are left frustrated at almost every stage where they want to repossess property through the courts,” says David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA (pictured, right).
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