The end of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions

In October 2022 during her brief stint as PM, Liz Truss confirmed that the Government intended to introduce legislation that would abolish 'no-fault' Section 21 evictions in the private rented sector as part of measures to deliver a “fairer, more secure, higher quality private rent sector”.

The relevant White Paper “A Fairer Private Rented Sector” sets out a number of proposals. The devil will be in the detail but it is believed that under the new measures:

• Section 21 will be abolished
• new grounds will be created under Section 8
• existing grounds under Section 8 will be strengthened
• landlords will need a valid reason for ending a tenancy
• existing Assured and Assured Shorthold Tenancies will convert to periodic tenancies
• tenants will be able to end a tenancy with two months’ notice
• landlords will not be able to evict a tenant within the first six months of the tenancy without a valid reason
• private rented properties must meet the Decent Homes Standard
• a Private Renters’ Ombudsman scheme will be introduced with mandatory membership
• a Property Portal will be introduced with landlords being required to register their property on the Portal
• rent will only be able to be increased once a year
• the notice periods for rent rises will increases to 2 months
• it will be illegal for landlords to have a ban on renting to families with children or on benefits

No date has yet been fixed for the introduction of the new legislation but it is expected the transition will start at the end of 2023/start of 2024 with an initial six month transitional period as follows:

• at least six months’ notice of the first implementation date
• from the first implementation date all new tenancies will be periodic and governed by the new rules
• from the second implementation date all existing tenancies will be periodic and governed by the new rules

Updates will be provided once further information is received.

If you have any queries arising from the above, or would like to suggest a topic for a future article, please contact Chris Drinkall on 01482 337367 or moc.s1732225938tillo1732225938r@lla1732225938knird1732225938.rehp1732225938otsir1732225938hc1732225938

Chris can also be followed on Twitter at @drinkall_chris and on LinkedIn.