A petition opposing the abolition of Section 21 evictions under the government’s Renters’ Rights reforms has attracted almost 9,000 signatures.
Launched in late January by landlord Craig Littlejohn, the petition calls for changes to landlord protections, including the introduction of a six-week expedited court process for mandatory Section 8 and 7A grounds covering rent arrears and anti-social behaviour. It also proposes the creation of a registered landlord database of tenants who have been evicted through the courts, along with an increase to the deposit cap to better cover serious property damage.
The petition argues that removing Section 21 would leave landlords reliant solely on Section 8 for regaining possession, which it says is too slow and ineffective.
Citing Ministry of Justice data, the petition states that the average eviction currently takes more than 27 weeks. It adds that delays lead to mounting rent arrears and property damage, placing financial strain on compliant landlords and undermining the wider rental market.
If the petition, which currently has 8,764 signatures, attracts 10,000 signatures, then the government has to respond.
At 100,000 signatures, this petition will be considered for debate in Parliament.
You can view the petition here.
I think that the removal of S21 itself is not the issue, the issue is that the Courts are not able to handle to vast amount of cases that will be coming their way. 6 months for a Landlord to get their own property back, and that is AFTER the notice period of potentially 2 months as well? Unacceptable. At least the Tories had said that they were going to be putting in the overhaul of the Court system before they looked at getting rid of S21…
I think the Deposit cap raise is also good, or at least a provision for an extra deposit, again with a cap, for tenants with pets, or tenants with a concerning credit history where the landlord is willing to give a chance, provided they are protected.
I also think a register of tenants where they have been evicted for rent arrears or property damage is a good idea. I’m sure there can be some way of having a sub-category for tenants who fell into issues through no fault of their own and were trying to pay, rather than ones who just stopped paying.
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Most of these changes especially keeping s21 until the courts were ready was mandated in the Lords but everything they voted for was just thrown out by Government. Labour are determined to see the end of private landlords and will continue to bash private landlords until all are gone. Our courts are overwhelmed and thousands of criminals are bailed waiting for a court date. Landlords seeking to evict are not a priority. Our courts are also overwhelmed by deportees fighting their deportation. With the end of s21 it will be up to a judge whether a tenant is evicted or not especially for rent arrears. If a tenant promises to pay off the arrears and start regular rent payments a judge could not allow the eviction to go ahead. Pet damage will become another issue because I cannot see a judge allowing eviction because a landlord does not want pets in his property. What constitutes damage by pets is just normal in some opinions. In some cases I can foresee a judge not allowing an eviction to go ahead and landlords having no option but to sell up to be rid of a negligent tenant.
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