24th
Sep 2014
If this bill is passed then power is handed to "nightmare tenants who bring misery to the lives of their neighbours and landlords alike, another weapon to prevent their removal" and will be abused.
Landlords' are vehemently condemning the government's decision to support Sarah Teather's private member's bill, to ban what is termed as "revenge evictions" as it is open to tenant abuse. Such bill will virtually remove any landlord's right to retain control of their property. Another major consequence will be that the only growth area supplying affordable homes to the public will be potentially limited due to lack of market confidence.
Richard Merrick, of PIMS says: “ No-one in the Industry supports 'revenge evictions where a tenant complains of property condition' and it does not have a place in the private rented sector. So in effect the majority of good landlords and lettings agents are to be penalised because of the few.
LEGISLATION ALREADY EXISTS TO PUNISH ROUGUE LANDLORDS
The reality there is already sufficient legislation to protect Tenants and should the Tenant wish they can request a
property inspection by the council, who will ensure
HHSRS compliance, this is the assessment of fit for purpose. Should the Landlord be negligent in their obligation/duties then they expose themselves to prosecution and claims for compensation due to Unlawful Eviction Act 1977 - this provides definitions of
Tenant Harassment with regards repairs and such
So the simple fact is even if the tenant is evicted using the Section 21, this does not rescind their right to seek redress and does not prevent the landlord being prosecuted.
BE UNDER NO ILLUSIONS
This bill and others are likely to be unify and the sledge hammer that is likely to prevail will be licencing of all properties. Then the landlord properties MUST be compliant otherwise the council will not issue a licence. Then the tenant CANNOT be evicted, the reason being if the landlord does not have a licence, they are in breach of part 6
Court application for possession for Section 21 Notice. - No licence Section 21 Invalid
U TURN
The Government's Communities Minister Stephen Williams has failed to disclose statistics, held by his department, that in fact as little as 9% of tenancies are brought to an end by landlords. The majority of these cases occurs because of non payment of rent or anti-social behaviour.
So another u-turn by the government regarding "revenge evictions" because in 2011 the ex- Lib Dem communities minister, Andrew Stunnell, said: “The ability to gain possession of their property is key to a landlord’s confidence in letting out that property in the first place, and in the current economic climate, we would not want to undermine that confidence.”
Needless to say that both Generation Rent and Crisis welcomed the government's announcement.
PIMS Related content
What is retaliatory eviction?
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To avoid counter claims to block an eviction a Landlord would rely on the Section 21 Notice to evict the Tenant, A
Section 21 Notice is part of the
Accelerated Possession procedure that is mandatory possession; basically it means: I promised I would rent to my Tenant from A to B. The end date being B has now passed. I want the Tenant to leave. My
paperwork is in order so the Judge has no choice but to
grant possession and they
MUST to leave. This is a postal process and rarely should there be a
Court Hearing
REPAIR OBLIGATIONS AND FINES
The consequences for non compliance include the tenant suing for
injury and or repair, imprisonment and or fines as per the examples beow
Landlord responsibility and Guidance legislation |
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Court Action by Fines & Penalited |
| The property must have all times have a valid gas safety cerficate - Gas Safety (Installation and Use) regulations 1998. |
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HSE & Trading standards.Unlimited fine and up to two years’imprisonment |
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Trading Standards -Up to six months imprisonment a fine of up to £5,000. |
To ensure the property is kept in a safe condition. - Part 1 of the Housing Act HHSRS. also see Inspections by Council & Section 80 of the Environmental Protection |
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Council - Upto £5000 fine and £20 every day fail to comply |
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The property must have all times have a valid gas safety cerficate - Gas Safety (Installation andUse) regulations 1998. |
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HSE & Trading standards.Unlimited fine and up to two years’imprisonment |
All electrics and electrical appliances supplied with thea ccommodation, aremaintained in a safe condition through out the tenancy - Various see Section |
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Courts Up to six months imprisonment and/or a fine of up to £5,000 per instance of noncompliance. |
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Not to harass or illegally evict a tenant. This includes failing to maintain or repair. The Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the Criminal Law Act 1977 and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 |
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