By As many as four in ten landlords indicated they would like the Government to hold a fast-track housing tribunal, in the event of Section 21 eviction notices being scrapped, according to Paragon, in their PRS Trends Report for 2019 Q2.
Section 21 concerns
Section 21 notices, known for being used for so-called “no-fault” evictions, were first introduced in 1988. Since then, the Government has made moves to limit its use by landlords, before proposing to scrap Section 21 altogether.
The Government has planned to hold a consultation in the summer to get feedback on how to ensure the existing Section 8 eviction process can be adapted to suit the needs of landlords and tenants.
Paragon found that as well as landlords being keen to have their views heard through some kind of tribunal, 24 per cent of respondents wished for a shorter court process.
Respondents were found to be greatly in favour of a speedier process for evictions in general. As many as 84 per cent of them said they thought the time between serving notice and taking possession should take no longer than eight weeks.
Subdued landlord optimism
Paragon concluded that landlords were slightly more optimistic in 2019 Q2 than in the first quarter of the year. Despite this, they found that just 13 per cent of landlords were optimistic about future prospects. This compares to findings in 2014, which suggested 33 per cent of landlords had optimism about the future.
John Heron, director of mortgages at Paragon, commented: “Some of the main concerns for landlords around a move to the Section 8 eviction process relate to the efficacy of the existing court process. What we see here is the widespread support for a fast track housing tribunal that can deliver a fair and timely solution for both landlords and tenants.”
The Paragon survey featured a selection of 203 landlords, with 88 per cent identifying themselves as having been landlords for ten years or more. Of these respondents, 52 per cent also claimed to hold at least 20 years of experience as landlords.
Abolition of S21 will give indefinate tenancies. If you have a difficult, criminal or anti social tenant you will not be able to serve S21 to remove them to protect your property’s property owning neighbours. If you are forced to use s8 neighbours will be afraid to give the evidence courts will require and landlords will shy away from the extra costs of bringing cases that can be defended by ambulance chasing lawyers. It is abundantly clear that Government does not understand the real world. S21 is not used for fun. Landlords are in the business to derive income and do not evict tenants and loose income for the hell of it. Our politicians appear too stupid to understand, or are too arrogant to think they know best. Either way it is not good news for landlords or tenants as supply drops. Nor is it good for adjoining owner occupiers where landlords are having the tools to prevent anti-social/criminal behavior being taken away from them. Dear Conservative policy makers no one is going to thank you – apart from the anti social/criminal tenants who society does not want to live next door to. Mind you I guess it will give rogue local councils justification to do boroughwide licensing claiming to be the good guys whislt boosting their income as aniti-social behaviour increases. After all it is usually all about money!