It has been almost three weeks since a petition calling for the reversal of the Section 21 ban passed the 10,000-signature mark, yet ministers have still not issued the written response that threshold is meant to trigger.

The petition, launched in February by landlord Craig Littlejohn, crossed the milestone 20 days ago and under parliamentary rules, that should prompt a formal reply from the government.

Despite this, no statement has been published. An PRS online media outlet has now asked the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to explain the delay of any form of response.

The petition urges ministers to introduce a six-week fast-track court process for possession cases, create a national register of tenants evicted through the courts, and raise the cap on tenancy deposits. 

It is titled ‘Require faster eviction process, and improve protections for landlords in the PRS’, and its full wording is reproduced below.

“We petition the Government to amend the law for landlords by instituting a 6-week expedited court process for Mandatory Grounds s8/7A (arrears/Anti-Social Behaviour), creating a registered-landlord database of court-evicted tenants, and raising the deposit cap to adequately cover severe damage.

“The abolition of Section 21 under the Renters’ Rights Act means evicting bad tenants relies solely on Section 8. 

“Current MoJ data shows the average eviction takes over 27 weeks (6+ months). 

“We believe this delay punishes law-abiding landlords via irrecoverable arrears and damage. 

“We urgently need an expedited court process for mandatory grounds (ASB/arrears), a vetting database for repeat offenders, and a higher deposit cap to help sustain the rental market.”

Use this link for the petition here: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/754639

Ministers must formally consider whether the issue should be scheduled for debate if the petition reaches 100,000 signatures.