Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has heavily hinted that his party will end Section 21 – the means by which landlords can regain possession of the properties without having to give a reason – if and when it comes to power.
As such, it is likely to change the way the private rented sector currently works.
A tweet from Corbyn followed Monday night’s Panorama programme featuring controversial landlord Fergus Wilson, who in turn has hit out at the BBC for its “left wing bias”.
However Corbyn’s tweet was slightly odd in that it referred to ‘revenge eviction’ – a phrase normally used in specific connection with landlords using Section 21 in situations where tenants have asked for improvements to their homes.
Monday’s programme, a Panorama special presented by Richard Bilton, particularly looked at Wilson’s use of Section 21 notices to regain possession of his properties. However, there was one allegation of a ‘revenge eviction’ after a couple complained about heating.
Wilson is planning to sell up his portfolio of properties and has served notices to “mass evict” tenants.
The programme has led to a wave of comments, including from Corbyn.
He said in a tweet which used the Panorama hashtag: “We’ll be on the side of tenants and people without a home to call their own, not rogue landlords. It’s time to end revenge eviction.”
Wilson has hit back at Panorama in typically robust manner, saying: “The BBC is known as the Biased Broadcasting Corporation for very good reason.
“Every time Richard Bilton is on a housing programme it is the same old gramophone record of the poor parents with children with nowhere to go!
“It is a subject close to his heart! However, he does the TV audience no good at all by taking up precious time showing tenants forced out and avoiding dealing with the cause of the problem.
“No time was spent dealing with the prime issue of why are landlords leaving buy-to-let in their hordes due to the punitive tax regimes being introduced for landlords by HMG.
“I am slightly different as I am retiring due to old age, but for those younger landlords exiting BTL it is because the Government has made it so unattractive.
“I ran through the reasons why the private sector is no longer investing but it was cut out in favour of Richard Bilton’s same old song.
“HMG needs to address just why the private sector landlord is no longer investing.
“It is time for Richard Bilton to be thrown on the scrapheap. He is out of time and out of touch.”
Many in the private rented sector believe that it was the introduction of Section 21 which reinvigorated this part of the housing market, giving landlords confidence that they would be able to get back their properties. However, in Scotland, a ‘no fault’ eviction is no longer allowed.
Below, Corbyn’s tweet
Below, Corbyn’s tweet 
Tenants need balanced and fair protection from rogue landlords and agents in the same way agents needs protection from rogue tenants and letting agents. Agents, along with former service personnel it seems, also need protection from ‘woke’ publicity and vote seeking politicians.
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Probably the most logical comment you’ll find on this post.
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The end of section 21 will start the end of the PRS. The tenant lobby groups have this in their sights next and government will pander to them just like they did with the tenant fee ban. Will result in poorer standands, less property, higher rents. When will the government realise what the PRS has achieved for them – housing millions of people in this country so they don’t have to.
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The BBC chose Wilson as an easy target to manipulate for their propaganda, this was nothing other than underpinning the governments introduction of ending section 21, as labour is shouting in the background they will implement this it leaves the Tories little option as the all-important generation rent vote takes priority over everything, no matter what damage it will do to the sector
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I wish I had a £1 for every time Bilton said ‘booted out’ id buy another property – but not in this country.
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Will this apply to the mortgage company too? When the landlord needs to sell because he is struggling to pay the mortgage, will the lender not be able to kick out the tenant.
As with everything greater balance is needed. I dont think landlords would have a massive issue with this as long as 2 things were put in place. A) Some provision to get their property back with a longer notice period, say 6 months to a year B) More assistance was provided to evict problem tenants quicker.
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This will be the end of buy to let mortgages.
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I wouldnt go that far, but with ever action there is a reaction. Both Labour and Tory governments have let buy to let grow too big and too fast as it suited their needs at the time, now it doesnt they have no idea how to calm that part of the market gently. But this isnt about being fair to tenants its about winning votes.
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There will also need to be an overhaul of court procedures when dealing with tenants who breach the tenancy terms. The average time taken to complete the process is shockingly high.
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Wilson is not the sort of bloke I would want to have a pint with but the comments he has made about the BBC and government are bang on in every respect.
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This is like deja vu. Richard Bilton did a very similar programmed last year, calling for an end to s21s. I critiqued it here: https://www.property118.com/landlords-union-slams-bbc-panorama-report/
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Just out of interest, all you landlords and agents out there, how many S21 notices did you serve in the past 12 months?
We manage c150 properties on behalf of private landlords and in the past 12 months have served S21 4 times, twice to allow a landlord to house their own son or daughter, once because the landlord moved back in and the last one was used as tenants had separated and the main wage earner had left leaving nobody who could afford the rent; used S21 before rent arrears became a problem . In comparison we had about 30 or so tenants who gave notice to move on either out of area, to a larger property or because their circumstances had changed.
Our landlord base is ageing so I fully expect those landlords to sell up at some stage, in the past we were able to sell those properties to other landlords, the climate at the moment would , I suspect, make that difficult!
Don’t think I’ve seen such a biased one sided programme for many years, in balance the BBC should have followed the programme with one about terrible tenants.
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There is a reason why the PRS exists! Successive governments have all tried this sledge hammer to crack a nut scenario meaning we’ve been left with piecemeal legislation at best.
I’m completely behind the removal of rogue landlords and agents for that matter, but the whole process needs to be looked at in detail rather than just jostling for winning votes and headlines each time.
I think everyone wants a fair and equal system, but we seem to be heading some way off that from the headlines above.
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They simply dont want the small time/accidental landlord. (thats both labour and the tories)
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They don’t want any diversity as it is more difficult to steer the market.
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Although much of what Mr Wilson says is true his appearance was never going to provide a sensible view of the reality of life. It was of course a typical media sensationalism excercise. He is a larger than life character who the BBC used for its own politcial purposes. He is not the typical landlord by any stretch of the imagination As for “Communist” Corbyn I think we all know his views and where he is going. I would not have thought Mr Wilson would be niaeve enough not realise how Bilton would frame his programme. We all know landlords are a easy target for the rogue policitians and so called charities; nothing is going to change until there is a a mass reduction in rented property availablity. This country has been brainwashed into the anti landlord mind set. Again the Government have conned people to invest in Housing (whilst they reduce social housing) and once they have got the investment trap those investors by constant moving of the goal posts. It is truely shameful.
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Love him or loathe him Tommy Robinson exposed the BBC and specifically Panorama for the elitest, left wing, jobs for the boys corporation that it is. I refused to watch it. My view is that it has no credibility anymore.
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If you love Tommy Robinson then you’re nothing short of scum, the man is cancer.
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Utter Tosh, Robinson has been exposed and banned by pretty much every broadcasting network or social media platform.
He is a nasty, dangerous individual preaching hate.
As much as i do not agree with the Panorama story in the way it was edited, broadcasters, press and social media should be applauded to stifle that nasty little mans access to susceptible members of the public.
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I saw that programme, I’m a landlord and Wilson is the kind of loathsome individual that gives us all a bad name. And on the other side was that preachy self-righteous CEO of Shelter, Polly Neate.
The fact is that scum like Wilson are exactly the kind of landlord beloved by the likes of Neate and that pathetic Geography Teacher, Corbyn. They can simply point at landlords like him and say, ‘There you are, look at the way our laws allow landlords to treat their tenants. We need more power to control them!’ When in reality the vast majority of landlords are basically decent people just running small property businesses and treating their tenants properly.
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I hope that Mr Corbyn will stand up for tenants by building millions of new council housing rather than merely attacking every landlord naming them as rogues encouraging them to invest elsewhere. ie put his money where his mouth is.
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Chillllll peeps. Don’t think any tweets we see today will come to much in the end. Probably a few tweaks to the system. But that’s needed right? Yea boi.
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Not just Mr Corbyn. See Giles Peaker’s (@NearlyLegal) blog: “Then, somewhat surprisingly, the Centre for Social Justice published a report on improving security in the private sector. Yes, that Centre for Social Justice, the one set up by Ian Duncan Smith, the incubators of Universal Credit, and not noted for their left wing leanings. This report (albeit slightly contradictorily) recommended a four year minimum term and the ending of ‘no fault’ possession – the abolition of section 21.”
https://nearlylegal.co.uk/2019/03/forthcoming/
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Dear PM Corbyn,
I am writing to explain why as a teacher, nurse, essential worker I can’t take up employment in….. Thanks to your genius all properties that ought to be available for rent in the area are now state sanctioned squatted by people who you haven’t built enough social provision to house.
I fully appreciate those who would be displaced by an intelligent approach to providing homes for people who work might not vote for you but unless you can somehow reconcile your position as PM with the fact none of your key workers have anywhere to live, I’d respectfully suggest your brilliant plan has a bit of a flaw to it
Any thoughts?
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I can just see him now, dressed as Ming the Merciless.
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I cant see Robert with a long black goatee, but i guess your imagination is better than mine Benfield!!
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Green party vote it is then…
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Currently got 3 outstanding S21 notices. One issued for a family returning from Australia who would quite like their house back and two issued to tenants who have been poor payers for a year and the landlords have put up with it but both are now two months + in arrears. One of my non-paying tenants actually emailed today to say that it was my fault they hadn’t moved out as we hadn’t offered them another property! In the last 10 years I have not issued a single S21 as a result of a tenant complaining about a problem in their property. I am sure there are poor landlords out there but I deal with even poorer tenants.
We manage about 140 properties so we are not huge but I’ve been doing this job long enough to know what the issues are and getting rid of no fault evictions will solve nothing.
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Wouldn’t a section 8 notice be more appropriate for the arrears tenants?
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Would have been but both tenants a bit canny when it comes to discretionary and mandatory grounds. No fault seemed the simplest way as all the paperwork is in order.
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No doubt they’ll have taken advice from Shelter. Personally I think a section 8 is wonderful consideration for a tenant..
Thanks very much for not paying your rent, we’d like to move out and by the way when we’re asked for a reference in the future we’ll be obliged to mention your section 8 eviction. You wont be able to tell your next landlord or agent the landlord came back from Oz and wanted their property back and you moved out on a S21
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The problem with a section 8 notice is that the tenant can counter claim. For example they can say they were withholding rent as the boiler was broken or there was mould at the eviction hearing. This means the judge normally suspends the hearing and waits for a report. The tenant can then fake the fault for the inspection and be awarded costs. This is the reason most landlords use section 21 if they can as it is an automatic eviction. It does mean that you can’t try to recover rent arrears at the same time but as most tenants in arrears won’t pay and will just disappear this isn’t normally a big loss (and if the tenant can pay you can still go through the SCC).
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It’s always interesting to note that when Panorama or any other TV show does a program on science/medicine/interplanetary dieting et al, we assume a respect for the experts in a field we know nothing about. However when it comes to housing everybody who lives in a house/flat or shoe becomes an expert by virtue of the roof over their head.
The complete lack of understanding of the social domino effect of politically motivated taxation and legislation is and will create more homelessness and create a larger group who can already claim to be experts on the subject.
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I guess the BBC got one thing right: that being that Fergus Wilson probably is one of the country’s most contraversial landlords so 10/10 for title content and unbiased report somewhat lower!
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Apologies if this is bit of a daft question – but if they do away with the Section 21 – wouldn’t that mean that the current STA could default to an assured tenancy and therefore we’d be able to charge tenant fees?
It’s Saturday morning and I’ve a bit of a headache, so be gentle if it is a daft question – it just occurred to me.
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