23rd
Feb 2015
UPDATED 02/04/2015 The Deregulation Bill was granted Royal Assent 26th March 2015 - Some components are immediate with others to be phased in This Bill will result in significant changes in the way landlords are …
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Section 21 Notice Important Changes.......After a lengthy debate detailing many technicalities, the House of Lords passed the amendments to the Deregulation Bill which means that sooner, rather than later, “revenge evictions” will be illegal.
The changed Bill will now have to go through the House of Commons and to be signed off by Royal Assent. The amendments that were passed by the House of Lords means that very shortly it will be illegal for any landlord to evict any tenant with a Section 21 notice, within six months of receiving an improvement or hazard awareness request or notice from the tenant.
If a tenant issues a complaint accusing a landlord of a retaliatory eviction from their rented home, then it is probable that the council will take up their claim. The local authority will then get involved with the landlord to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
However if the problem cannot be resolved and the landlord is in the wrong if the property is unsafe or in need of repairs, then they will receive a statutory notice. Lord Ahmed, for the government, is wholeheartedly behind the passed amendments claiming that both tenants and the landlords will gain from the introduction of the new measures.
The rationale for original intended legislation is:
- To prevent tenants from feeling unable to complain about poor property conditions because they fear eviction. The Bill should also encourage landlords to keep their property in a decent condition and to comply with all legal obligations placed upon them, in order not to lose their right to rely on section 21.
He covered four points :
- Tenants would be kept safe from “revenge evictions”.
- All tenants when issued with eviction would be given at least two months’ notice.
- A Section 21 notice could not be issued if the landlord had not fulfilled their obligations, such as issuing an EPC or yearly gas certificates.
- Section 21 notices will be passed if the landlord and evictions will carry on as normal if landlords issue them legitimately.
PIMS said: “ We believe that when these measure come into force, which may be shortly before the election, then many landlords will be put off from issuing Section 21 notices, even for lawful reasons. Sadly should the tenant claim disrepair then the alternative section 8 Notice route would also be fraught with problems. Should a Section 21 Notice be issued and the tenant elect to make false accusations, then sadly they shall do so and the Section 21 is open to being blocked
PIMS Related content see
Will this proposed law change be open to abuse
“We’ve mentioned before that there will be some solicitors looking to make considerable gains from tenants making claims. Suddenly landlords across England will start receiving requests for numerous and “important” requests for repairs, from savvy tenants who have not been paying their rent.”
Inclusion of Section 21 restriction on use is abuse of intended purpose of deregulation bill
When the deregulation bill was originally drafted in July 2013 [see draft] the purpose of the bill was to simplify existing legislation not to impose new legislation such as restriction of use of Section 21 Notice ; this is slight of hand for the original intended legislation had failed to be passed in the Tenant Reform Bill
stated intended purpose of deregulation Bill
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Publication of the draft Bill is the latest step in the Government’s on going drive to remove unnecessary bureaucracy
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Overall, ministers have already decided that 1,910 substantive regulations will be scrapped or reduced. No where does the purpose of this legislation state it can be used to sneak through additional legislation to force controls over landlords.
No where does it say to impose additional controls over Private Housing Sector
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The restrictions on use of Section 21 failed to be passed during its reading in when included in the Tenant Reform Bill so sneaked with another bill
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