No-fault evictions set to come an end in 2025

Hull Is This had a chat with Abbie Bielby about no-fault evictions.

In broad terms, Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 allows landlords to evict residential tenants, who occupy a property under an assured shorthold tenancy in England on 2 months’ notice. The Section 21 procedure is often referred to as a “no-fault eviction”, as landlords do not need to give a reason for the eviction. However, this may be set to change in the near future.

“If you live in rented accommodation, under an assured shorthold tenancy (which is the default tenancy since 28 February 1997), your landlord has the ability to evict you on two months’ notice,” said Abbie Bielby, Senior Solicitor at Rollits. “Even if you’ve always paid your rent on time and been a perfect tenant, your landlord still retains the right to serve a Section 21 Notice should they choose to. However, the Landlord cannot, it is important to note, issue a Section 21 Notice within the first 4 months of the tenancy, and the Section 21 Notice cannot end the tenancy until the fixed term ends.”

Back in 2019, Theresa May first made a promise to abolish Section 21 of the Housing Act. Since then, 100,000 no-fault evictions have taken place across England. In the last year alone, 20,000 households faced homelessness as a result of the Section 21 “no-fault” eviction process.

“Currently, a tenant has a very limited ability to defend a no-fault eviction,” said Abbie. The receipt of a Section 21 Notice can therefore lead to uncertainty and anxiety.

The Government is now looking to bring an end to Section 21 no fault evictions, which will be welcome news for tenants. It will however,  be a cause for concern for landlords, as Abbie explained: “Currently a Landlord can rely on section 21 to recover possession of a property without having to prove it has a good reason to do so.  The process, whilst time consuming (it can still take 4 to 6 months to recover a property from the date a Section 21 Notice is issued) can provide Landlords with peace of mind that provided they have followed the process properly  they can recover possession. Removing the Section 21 process could make it more difficult and substantially more expensive to secure possession.”

Abbie told us that though the aim of bringing an end to Section 21 is to create a fairer rental property landscape, it could result in many landlords requiring significantly higher deposits and putting up rent  or,  in the immediate short term landlords may decide to serve their current tenants with Section 21 notices over the coming months so that they can reassess their position as a landlord before the proposed changes come into effect.

“Another consideration are ‘accidental landlords’, such as people who inherit  tenanted properties,” said Abbie. “At the moment, people who become ‘accidental’ landlords, who may not want to be a landlord, have the option to serve two months’ notice and free up the property for them to either move into themselves or sell. Without  Section 21 removing tenants may be more difficult for people who accidentally become landlords and do not want to be”

“As with all such fanfare announcements, whilst we have seen media grabbing headlines, we still do not have all the details, so we will have to see what happens in the coming months,” said Abbie. “What is almost certain, however, is that recovering possession of rented accommodation will become more costly and more time consuming.”

If this article affects you in any way, make sure to get in touch with Rollits for expert advice.  Members of the Dispute Resolution team are available to consult with landlords and discuss their options. On the other side of the coin, Rollits can also advise tenants who have received a Section 21 notice and provide guidance on the validity of the Notice and the options available to the tenant.