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02 May 2019 / Dominic Bright
Issue: 7838 / Categories: Features , Property , Landlord&tenant
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Section 21 sent packing

Dominic Bright provides an overview of the challenges & consequences of the government’s move to end ‘no-fault’ evictions

  • End of ‘no-fault’ evictions through repeal of Section 21 of the Housing Act 1998.
  • Strengthening Section 8 so that landlords are able to regain their property should they wish to sell, or move in.

In the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government’s Overcoming the Barriers to Longer Tenancies in the Private Rented Sector (April 2019), the government announced that ‘we will introduce a generational change to the law that governs private renting. This government will put an end to “no-fault” evictions by repealing Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988’ [8]. All subsequent references are to paragraphs in this document. It was rightly described as a ‘significant step’ [28]. One reason is that, ‘on the whole landlords were resistant to the removal of the Section 21 “no-fault” eviction procedure’ [22].

Last year, over eight weeks, the government consulted on longer tenancies, proposing a new, three-year model.

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NEWS
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Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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