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Monday, April 22, 2019

No-fault evictions to be banned

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22 comments:

Anonymous said...

We should put ourselves in our tenants’ shoes occasionally. If a tenant pays rent on time and broadly adheres to the tenancy agreement why should they be evicted?

It may be our property but it is their home.

Mugsie said...

I understand the reasoning behind this - and generally applaud it - but what is the point of fixed term contracts if tenants can't be evicted, eg, if the property is required for the owner or their family?

Anonymous said...

A landlord wouldn't be looking to evict tenants who like you say pay on time & stick to the agreement so your comment isn't solving any issues.

It's the troublesome high maintenance tenants that we want out.

Anonymous said...

The troublesome high maintenance tenants can still be evicted without Section 21.

The law may change to stop lazy landlords using S21 to evict good tenants who live in un down properties with poor landlords and who complain that the landlord isn’t meeting his/her responsibilities as a landlord. We all know that poor landlords exist.

martin9325 said...

I have a tenant in a house in a not very smart part of London. She arrived with a baby over 18 years ago and that baby is now an undergraduate at Cambridge. I am sure that being settled and not having to move schools was helpful and obviously it is good for the country that young people can succeed to the best of their abilities. Bad tenants have to be moved on, but I think this experience shows that it is in everyone's interests to let good tenants stay as long as they want.

Unknown said...

I don't know of any LL's or agents that evict tenants who pay on time and look after the property. Do you?

Unknown said...

How does a property owner switch from being a landlord for a winter let to being a host for the holiday letting season if tenants cannot be evicted?

Unknown said...

If this happens I'm giving everyone holiday let agreements so they aren't legally tenants

Unknown said...

This is only making it harder to get rid of bad tenants and I have just got one out lose of 1 months rent and 7k to get the place up to scratch based on neglect and damage

Shindera said...

How many people deliberately fall into arrears and risk not having a roof over their head? How many people deliberately behave anti socially and risk the same thing? These are the vulnerable. How many judges will find in favour of landlords when their judgements will make tenants permanently homeless? How many landlords faced with very difficult evictions are going to let to the vulnerable? When will politicians stop pinning the responsibility that is of a national concern on small private sector tax paying businesses?

Brian said...

I'll be issuing my first ever section 21 notice next week, while I still can, and as a direct result of this proposed change. I will be selling the property. I'm not in the business of providing social housing in perpetuity, especially as my current tenants are falling deeper into arrears, as so many do. I'll be buying a holiday let instead.

Unknown said...

What am I missing here?

"At the moment, landlords can give tenants as little as eight weeks' notice after a fixed-term contract ends."

Is it just me, or does this not say a 'fixed-term' contract? So in actual fact, the tenants have an ADDITIONAL 8 weeks on top of the period of the contract (usually 12 months). They know when they sign the 'contract' when it starts and ends, just like the landlord .

What exactly is the point of the 'fixed term' contract if it's not a fixed term? How can following the terms of the mutually agreed contract not be within the law???

So in other words, you can rent out the property that you worked hard to pay for, but how long you rent it to any particular person is completely up to them, not you, the property owner .

What a load of nonsense!

Mugsie said...

That was exactly my point.

Anonymous said...

We have a tenant at moment. Not paying rent regular, almost 2 months in arrears. Given section 21 in nov 18. Told us not leaving so we have to take to court. Now in court hands. So 5 months later he still there. Also property being damaged. It’s a hmo with 1person as other tenants left because couldn’t live there. Why have tenants all these rights. We are considering whether should sell up, leaving 25 tenants on the street.
The laws are ridiculous.
Rant over.

Unknown said...

I've owned a Letting agency for 5 years. We've served 5 section 21s - all with very good reason (one tenant had two parties at both damage was done to the property and neighbours complained. Tenant was warned first time and served notice after second time. Another one was served following Complaints from neighbours about drug dealing at the property. We became aware that another tenant had done a house swap with a known criminal - although they denied it we had been alerted to it by neighbours who the criminal had talked to about the house swap. Another paid the monthly rent weekly and was hit and miss with poor excuses). In light of all the changes to the laws strengthening the rights of tenants and weakening landlords rights, we have decided to close our business at the end of the month.

Anonymous said...

This is the biggest load of rubbish this Tory government has done yet, following George's tax on turnover and the 3% stamp duty on purchases.
Due to Thatcher selling off all the council houses at a 'subsidised' rate, now local authorities DEPEND on investment from the private sector. Section 21 is already too long and costly a method of evicting problem tenants as it is. Besides I never knew of any Landlord who used Section 21, without good reason. Section 8 is not fit for purpose. I have been a Landlord for 12 years, own 11 properties and have only had to use Section 21 3 times. Good tenants are like gold dust and I am genuinely sad, and nervous, when they have to leave with only 30 days notice and I worry who I'm going to get next. The law is already biased in the tenants favour. Also what happens if problem tenant refuses to pay and landlord cancels direct debit for buy to let mortgage with the bank? I'm sure the government won't be able to stop repossession then will they?!
The government need to stop medaling in things they don't understand the mechanics of, and put more effort into running the country instead of having stupid referendums on things that the voting public have no real capacity to understand. I like most landlords voted Remain by the way.

Anonymous said...

In The Netherlands tenants cannot be evicted at the end of the tenancy contract if they continuing paying rent. It is almost nigh on impossible to increase rent. My legal battle with my tenant from hell lasted 20 years and cost me over 500 000 pounds and controlled my life for that time. You do not own a house when you have no say who lives there...for whatever reason. This is a desperation measure by the Tories stealing Labours plans.... for both parties to ingratiate themselves with more voters..........Let the Government build council houses to house all the bad tenants, who anyone that has let property has been persecuted by.

Anonymous said...

If they do this, Landlords must all stick together and on mass refuse to grant Assured Shorthold Tenancies. They need to allow tenants in under the guise of a Licensee Agreement, which has no possession rights for the tenant and also any deposit doesn't have to be protected. If all letting agents refuse to draft AST agreements and they are all Licensee Agreements the tenants will have no other choice but to sign if they want a place to live. So let's all stick together and do this.
Also to defeat Mr Osbourne taking away Mortgage Interest Relief alot of Landlords I am hearing are now taking rent payment in cash. Then if ever investigated all you have to say is I am stuck with a non paying tenant that I can't evict because the law has made it impossible to do so.

Anonymous said...

Would it not have been easier to just simply cancel the Mortgage Direct Debit and just allow the bank to step in and do the work?
If not Mortgaged, couldn't you have just put a mortgage on it in the short term for this purpose? At least you would have got most of your equity out of the property.

Anonymous said...

The Tories are traitorous c**ts anyway. They will be out at the next general election.
They haven't followed the will of the people with Brexit and now they are trying to gain Labour supporting votes. It is desperate, it is transparent!
Never before has politics been such a mess.
Reforms to Section 21 will just make landlords sell up in droves.
It is a disgusting situation where tenants have more rights than the landlord being bullied over his or her own property. This country is going to hell in a hand cart!!

mne said...

In this case you should be able to ise S8

Anonymous said...

i think a lot of this fuss has been caused by the accidental landlord! the one who doesn't care about anyone except for the revenue on his capital return due to the low interest rates in banks. i would love to sell after 30 years and having very good tenants, except for a couple on the way and i only issued one section 21 because the council would not house the couple who had out grown my property after 6 years. they had to be evicted via the court so they stopped paying me! shame nice family. if the government continue i certainly do not wish to so all my families will have to go.