Section 21 notice frustration for landlords thanks to local authority advice for tenants

The difficulties for landlords in the current harsh economic climate are not been eased by local authorities. In a bid to meet targets on homelessness they are encouraging tenants to stay put beyond the two month period after the serving of a section 21 notice.

Landlords are having to battle the advice of local authorities when serving tenants with a section 21 notice to leave a rental property.

Many councils are advising tenants of private rental property to stay until they are forcibly evicted by bailiffs.

Some local authorities are encouraging tenants who approach them to stay on beyond the Section 21 notice because, they argue, they want to reduce cases of homelessness by giving tenants longer to find alternative accommodation.

The National Landlords Association says that 'gatekeeping' is not unusual. 'In some cases local authorities are advising tenants to stay until bailiffs throw them out. This would then make the tenants unintentionally homeless and qualify them for council assistance,' says Elizabeth Brogan, senior policy officer at the association.

'This whole practice is absolutely abhorrent. The government clearly does not agree with this practice. In its guidance to local authorities, it clearly states that where someone is in rented accommodation and there would be no reasonable defence for them to stay, "it is unlikely to be reasonable for the tenant to continue to occupy the accommodation beyond the date given in the Section 21 notice".'

Read more in this Guardian article.