Following the government’s announcement last week that it will consult on legislation to abolish Section 21 eviction (no-fault evictions), Spicerhaart Corporate Sales managing director Mark Pilling has said it “could exacerbate the problem” already being felt in the private rented sector.
The government made the announcement in an attempt to prevent private landlords from removing tenants at short notice as, currently, after a fixed-term contract ends, landlords can issue tenants eight weeks’ notice and evict renters without a reason.
However, Pilling has argued that many accidental landlords are looking to get out of the sector following recent regulatory changes and used UK Finance’s recent data to support his view, highlighting that buy-to-let arrears are on the rise.
“If they then need to sell to get out of a difficult situation, they often need to use section 21 in order to get vacant possession to market and sell the property to achieve the best price. If section 21 is scrapped, landlords who are in this situation will have to go through the longer court process to secure vacant possession,” he said.
The managing director emphasised that “there is always a reason why a landlord ends a tenancy”, adding that typically the landlord wishes to sell their property.
“Where tenants are being evicted through no fault of their own but rather because of their landlords' circumstances, it must be very upsetting for them, but, if landlords themselves are having financial difficulties, scrapping section 21 could leave them trapped. Their lender then may have no choice but to appoint a receiver or ultimately repossess the property which puts the tenant in an even worse situation,” Pilling argued.
He concluded that Section 21 is not initiated “in most cases”, but reiterated that landlords should be able to evict their tenants when they are unable to find an alternative option.
“The UK has a housing crisis, so the private rented sector is more important than ever and with the tax changes a number of landlords are leaving the sector. By scrapping section 21 you could deter landlords even further, and that is not a good situation to be in.”
Latest News
Perenna and the long-term fixed mortgage market
Content editor, Dan McGrath, spoke to head of product, proposition and distribution at Perenna, John Davison, to explore the long-term fixed mortgage market, the role that Perenna plays in this sector and the impact of the recent Autumn Budget
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories