Improve the eviction process to deal with tenants who do not pay their rent
Improve the eviction process to deal with tenants who do not pay their rent
The Issue
Protect Landlords against Rogue Tenants under “Renter’s Rights Bill”
This petition is to ask the Housing Minister to implement changes to the Housing Act as proposed in this paper in order to protect Landlords against rogue tenants by making the eviction process , more efficient, stream line the process and reduce the length of time it takes to evict tenants.
These changes are relevant to tenants who have been served notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 under which landlords can evict tenants if the tenancy agreement has been broken or they want to change the use of the property. Under this petition the case is specifically relevant to tenants who have not paid their rent.
The proposed changes need to be made now because of the impact of “Renters Right Bill”. Whilst the proposed bill will protect renters from unreasonable eviction it is perceived that it creates a scenario where rogue tenants can take advantage of the length of time it takes to implement eviction under section 8. At the present it can take anything up to 6 to 9 months to evict a tenant who has been served section 8 notice. The government stats show that the median time taken from possession claim to execution by bailiffs is about 25.4 weeks across the country*. During this period the landlord will suffer losses and stress whilst the tenant can benefit from living at a property without paying rent, Council tax and utility charges.
The cost of eviction to the landlord including loss of rent which can be significant based on the location, court fees and other liabilities associated with Council tax, utility defaults and potentially renovation cost of the property due to negligence on tenant’s part. These can add up to thousands of pounds.
This is unfair on the landlords who are in effect being deployed as providers of social housing. There is also evidence that Councils advise tenants facing eviction to remain in the property until a possession order is produced from the court rather than the section 8 notice by the landlord which is how the law originally was designed. Over 60% of the Landlords are aged over 55 years** and 42%** of Landlords originally became landlords to contribute towards their pension. 50% **of Landlord are female. The significance of these numbers are that the costs associated with eviction can cause serious hardship to these class of landlords who have been responsible citizens by securing theirs’s and their children’s future through investment and making a substantial contribution to the economy through income tax.
The specific changes that are being asked and your support is being requested by signing this petition are as follows:
1- Reduce the eviction process to 8 weeks maximum in practice rather than in words to alleviate the financial burden on the Landlords
2- Limit the time for a County Court eviction notice to 4 weeks maximum – in practice
3- Limit the Possession order by the County Court / High court to 4 weeks maximum – in practice
4- In 2024 the number of possession claims by Landlords was over 24000*. The numbers are likely to reduce with removal of section 21. However, to achieve the proposed timescales a dedicated body to review possessions e.g. Housing Ombudsman should be considered.
5- Stop Councils advising tenants to wait for possession order from the Court otherwise pay the landlord the rent owed and until the tenant/s leave the property.
304
The Issue
Protect Landlords against Rogue Tenants under “Renter’s Rights Bill”
This petition is to ask the Housing Minister to implement changes to the Housing Act as proposed in this paper in order to protect Landlords against rogue tenants by making the eviction process , more efficient, stream line the process and reduce the length of time it takes to evict tenants.
These changes are relevant to tenants who have been served notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 under which landlords can evict tenants if the tenancy agreement has been broken or they want to change the use of the property. Under this petition the case is specifically relevant to tenants who have not paid their rent.
The proposed changes need to be made now because of the impact of “Renters Right Bill”. Whilst the proposed bill will protect renters from unreasonable eviction it is perceived that it creates a scenario where rogue tenants can take advantage of the length of time it takes to implement eviction under section 8. At the present it can take anything up to 6 to 9 months to evict a tenant who has been served section 8 notice. The government stats show that the median time taken from possession claim to execution by bailiffs is about 25.4 weeks across the country*. During this period the landlord will suffer losses and stress whilst the tenant can benefit from living at a property without paying rent, Council tax and utility charges.
The cost of eviction to the landlord including loss of rent which can be significant based on the location, court fees and other liabilities associated with Council tax, utility defaults and potentially renovation cost of the property due to negligence on tenant’s part. These can add up to thousands of pounds.
This is unfair on the landlords who are in effect being deployed as providers of social housing. There is also evidence that Councils advise tenants facing eviction to remain in the property until a possession order is produced from the court rather than the section 8 notice by the landlord which is how the law originally was designed. Over 60% of the Landlords are aged over 55 years** and 42%** of Landlords originally became landlords to contribute towards their pension. 50% **of Landlord are female. The significance of these numbers are that the costs associated with eviction can cause serious hardship to these class of landlords who have been responsible citizens by securing theirs’s and their children’s future through investment and making a substantial contribution to the economy through income tax.
The specific changes that are being asked and your support is being requested by signing this petition are as follows:
1- Reduce the eviction process to 8 weeks maximum in practice rather than in words to alleviate the financial burden on the Landlords
2- Limit the time for a County Court eviction notice to 4 weeks maximum – in practice
3- Limit the Possession order by the County Court / High court to 4 weeks maximum – in practice
4- In 2024 the number of possession claims by Landlords was over 24000*. The numbers are likely to reduce with removal of section 21. However, to achieve the proposed timescales a dedicated body to review possessions e.g. Housing Ombudsman should be considered.
5- Stop Councils advising tenants to wait for possession order from the Court otherwise pay the landlord the rent owed and until the tenant/s leave the property.
304
Supporter Voices
Petition created on 23 January 2025