A number of national associations representing the interests of UK Landlords have united in opposition of the proposed abolition of Section 21 repossessions by creating a ‘Fair Possessions Coalition’ and offering a viable alternative.
The primary objective of the coalition is to overturn the decision to abolish Section 21 repossessions or delay the abolition until a fair alternative system is put in place.
The coalition boasts a strong supportive union of over 15 sector organisations including:
- Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) Propertymark
- Cornwall Residential Landlords Association
- Country Land and Business Association
- East Midlands Property Owners
- Eastern Landlords Association
- Guild of Residential Landlords
- Humber Landlords Association
- iHowz; Landlord Action
- Leeds Property Association
- National Landlords Alliance
- National Landlords Association
- North West Landlords Association
- Portsmouth and District Private Landlords’ Association
- Residential Landlords Association
- Safe Agent
- South West Landlords Association
- and Theresa Wallace, the Chair of The Lettings Industry Council
The coalition statement argues that Section 21 repossessions are mainly used for dealing with rent arrears cases or anti-social behaviour; issues the current Section 8 legislation fails to adequately address with any immediacy.
The statement further argues that the court system used to process Section 8 claims is not fit for purpose as it is difficult to access and notoriously understaffed. The 21.6 weeks it takes to repossess a property using this system is too long when dealing with critical incidents.
Whilst the coalition acknowledge a number of rogue landlords exploit Section 21 to complete ‘retaliatory evictions’, it has been argued that a restructuring of current regulations to help prevent these landlords from acting immorally is far more preferable.
Especially as recent reports have suggested that governmental regulations in their current iteration are encouraging landlords to leave the sector; this has a knock-on effect of reducing available housing stock and increasing rents.
The Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) report for April has highlighted an average reduction of five landlords per branch. This has increased from four in March as the Tenants Fees Act, increased surcharges in stamp duty land tax and the abolition of Section 21 continue to cause a landlord exodus.
The April ARLA report found that 33% of agents have reported a rise in rents, increasing from 30% in March. Only 1.9% of tenants had renegotiated a reduced rent in April. Again, this had reduced from 2.9% in March.
As available housing stock per branch remains flat and begins to fall from 203 to 202 properties, the signs suggest that the market could become expensive for tenants jostling for property.
The coalition have argued that any legislation changes should also form a broader package of measures, including welfare reform to help support vulnerable tenants. As landlords have felt crippled by taxation surcharges in recent years, the influential group have also suggested new favourable taxation of new homes bought and built specifically for the rental market could .
The full statement can be accessed here.
Will the coalition appease landlords and prevent a buy-to-let exodus? Is the government likely to agree with any of the coalition’s proposals?
