header-logo header-logo

Section 21 sent packing

02 May 2019 / Dominic Bright
Issue: 7838 / Categories: Features , Property , Landlord&tenant
printer mail-detail

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. Over 8,500 responses were received.

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

DWF—19 appointments

DWF—19 appointments

Belfast team bolstered by three senior hires and 16 further appointments

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Cadwalader—Andro Atlaga

Firm strengthens leveraged finance team with London partner hire

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Knights—Ella Dodgson & Rebecca Laffan

Double hire marks launch of family team in Leeds

NEWS
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll