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Should landlords be concerned over the abolishment of Section 21?

Journalist: Warren Lewis, Property Reporter

ended 30. March 2023

Up until now, landlords have been able to use Section 21 of the 1988 Housing Act to evict renters after the end of a fixed-term tenancy, with two months’ notice. However, under government plans, as part of the Renters Reform Bill, the scrapping of Section 21 will see landlords set to lose the right to evict tenants at short notice without giving a good reason for doing so.

Is this another legislative attack on the PRS by the government, or will the reform simply hit bad landlords abusing Section 21, rather than the reputable end of the market?

We're looking for your comments, quotes, and opinions on the abolishment of Section 21 and what this will mean for UK landlords.

3 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Emma JonesVerified
Managing Director at Whenthebanksaysno.co.uk
There is a shortage of homes in the UK and this will not be improved with steps that force landlords to reconsider their options. This pushes more landlords to consider the benefits of short-term letting using the likes of air b n b to ensure they are not left with a tenant who is not paying the rent. For a landlord with non-payment of rent as well as an increase in buy-to-let lending rates, this could be costly. I would encourage part-time landlords to lean on letting agents to help vet the tenant to prevent the landlord from being put in a position of being unable to pay the mortgage.
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Mike StatonVerified
Director at Staton Mortgages
And this is the reason I have not become a landlord, the country has gone barmy. How can somebody who pours their life savings into a property as an investment have less rights on that property than somebody they allow to live in it. Stop the planet, i want to get off
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Kundan BhaduriVerified
Property Developer and Portfolio Landlord at The Kushman Group
Fears surrounding the scrapping of section 21 are a driving force behind landlords not remortgaging and selling up instead. Sensible landlords rarely turf out good tenants who pay their rent as they want them to stick around. However, the inflexibility and helplessness in gaining possession in the face of rent arrears or antisocial behaviour will make a lot of landlords squirm at the thought of renting their properties again.

The potential scrapping of section 21 worries a third of landlords and is being touted as the key driving force behind growing numbers of landlords selling up and leaving the private rented sector (PRS) altogether according to several recent surveys.