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01 September 2023 / Daniel Bacon
Issue: 8038 / Categories: Features , Landlord&tenant , Property , Housing
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No-fault evictions: one door closes, another opens

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As part of long-awaited proposals to reform the English private rental market, no-fault eviction is on its way out: Daniel Bacon takes a look at what is set to replace it
  • The Renters (Reform) Bill proposes to repeal section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, ending the most popular route to no-fault eviction.
  • No-fault evictions will nonetheless continue under new and liberalised Schedule 2 grounds.
  • We may expect some landlords—particularly in higher-risk cases—to continue to prefer such routes to possession.

Possession proceedings in England are changing. No-fault eviction under s 21 of the Housing Act 1988 (HA 1988) is on its way out—an outcome promised by the government since March 2019 and now taking form in the Renters (Reform) Bill making its way through Parliament. In its stead, the substantive grounds for possession on which section 8 eviction relies—contained in Sch 2, HA 1988—will be strengthened and expanded. Landlords will continue to have a range of options for the recovery of possession of their rental properties,

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