According to the National Landlords Association, landlords fear that the purposed scrapping of Section 21 will leave them “powerless” against tenants in the private rented sector that can be a potential danger due to anti-social behaviour. In the first quarter of the year, the National Landlords Association surveyed more than 40,000 of its members to find out more about their opinions on the potential abolition of Section 21. The results from the survey reveal that over the past year, 14% of the surveyed landlords reported they have tenants engaging in anti-social activities, including drug abuse, prostitution, playing loud music, and more.
The current respond of landlords to tenants with anti-social behaviour is issuing a ‘no-fault’ Section 21 notice. The notice enables landlords to repossess their property, normally within four months, without the need for evidence in court provided by neighbours and those affected by the anti-social behaviour of the tenants.
However, this year the government has already revealed their plans to abolish the Section 21 notice and this is the reason why fears have sparked among landlords. The main fear is that landlords will not be able anymore to evict anti-social behaviour tenants and that now their only alternative remains issuing a Section 8 notice, which allows landlords to repossess their properties as long as they are able to provide a valid reason and significant evidence to satisfy the court.
However, landlords fear that this alternative may provide them with the same rights as Section 21 notice. They believe that anti-social behaviour can be very difficult to prove without witness statements. Furthermore, they think witness statements are hard or even impossible to get. The Section 8 process, compared to Section 21, is more expensive, longer, and can take up many months until into action.
The chief executive officer of the National Landlord Association, Richard Lambert, comments: “Local communities often hold landlords responsible for the anti-social behaviour that takes place in their properties. But landlords cannot be blamed if they do not have effective tools to deal with the problem. In cases where the main issue is noise, alcohol or drugs, it can end up as your word against theirs. The reality is that neighbours and other tenants are sometimes just too afraid either to report cases of anti-social behaviour or testify in court.”