Almost 40 per cent of landlords want the government to introduce a fast track housing tribunal if the Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction process is abolished, according to Paragon’s PRS Trends Report for Q2 2019.

The Section 21 ‘no-fault’ eviction process was introduced in The Housing Act 1988 and has been a mainstay of the UK’s Private Rented Sector. It allows landlords to give tenants two months’ notice of their intention to take possession of a property at any time after the initial fixed term of the tenancy agreement has expired.

The government announced its intention to abolish the policy in April this year. In its place, it proposed that landlords should following the Section 8 process, which requires them to demonstrate that tenants are in breach of their rental agreement when serving notice.

The survey from Paragon has been published ahead of a government consultation this summer, designed to gather views on how best to make the existing Section 8 process work more effectively.

Alongside a fast track tribunal, almost one quarter of landlords in Paragon’s survey (24 per cent) called for a shorter court process, one in seven (15 per cent) would like a guaranteed way to cover their costs and 7 per cent argued for the ability to submit evidence online.

The majority of landlords (84 per cent) said they felt the maximum time from serving notice to taking possession should be no longer than eight weeks.

Commenting on the data, Paragon director of mortgages John Heron said: “Some of the main concerns for landlords around a move to the Section 8 eviction process relate to the efficacy of the existing court process. What we see here is widespread support for a fast track housing tribunal that can deliver a fair and timely solution for both landlords and tenants.”

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