Landlord and Tenant Update – The beginning of the end of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions
As a litigation solicitor specialising in landlord and tenant disputes I have been advising clients on the Section 21 procedure for around 10 years. As a brief summary, the Section 21 procedure involves a residential landlord serving a notice on their tenant stating that they require possession of the property by the date specified in the notice. The usual time period that landlords must give to their tenants is 2 months (there are exceptions). The form is relatively brief and, importantly, does not specify a reason for why the tenant must vacate the property and give the property back to the landlord. This is why it is sometimes called the ’no fault eviction procedure’.
I have been instructed by numerous landlords and most of the time the reason why a landlord wants to recover possession of their property is personal and legitimate however occasionally the landlord will not have a particularly good reason for serving a section 21 notice:
“I do not like the tenant, they are always complaining”
“I am not happy with the way the property is being kept. It is untidy”
The crucial thing is that under the procedure the reason for wanting to end the tenancy is not important. There is no ‘reason’ that needs to be included on the notice. The landlord can have a good reason or a not so good reason. The landlord can just serve a Section 21 Notice. All the power is currently with the landlord. This is how things currently stand.
The general election takes place on 4th July 2024 and in the Labour Manifesto published recently it has been pledged by the Labour Party “we will immediately abolish Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions”.
Depending on the winner of the general election we could well be seeing the end of the ‘no fault’ eviction or at least a move towards the beginning of the end. Perhaps, in the not too distant future, landlords will need to carefully check whether they have sufficient grounds to ask their tenants to vacate the property.
