By Rachel Haymes, head of conveyancing at Ratio Law
Over the last year or so, there has been growing pressure on the government to protect tenants in rented properties from so-called ‘revenge evictions’. And now, after much discussion and lobbying, a law has been passed by the House of Lords to put a stop to them.
But what was the problem in the first place? In November 2014, Citizens Advice revealed one in three private rented properties in England failed to meet the government’s decent home minimum standard. It reported a 14 per cent increase in people asking for help with repairs and maintenance problems between July and September 2014, compared to the same period for the previous year.
There have been a number of cases identified by Citizens Advice where renters who had complained about repairs, damage, damp and other issues found themselves facing eviction for no apparent reason. In fact, the charity’s Advice Trends report revealed a 15 per cent increase in the number of cases where people were harassed or illegally evicted by landlords.
According to the homeless charity Shelter, in 2014 200,000 people faced eviction because they had asked their landlord to fix a problem in their home. The charity campaigned heavily to fight revenge evictions, calling on people to sign a petition to demand better rights for renters.
The worry from some campaigners was that rogue landlords may take advantage of a ‘loop hole’ in the law. Previously, Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 enabled landlords to apply for a court order requiring tenants to vacate, without providing specific reasons. Now, under the new law, which was passed as part of the Deregulation Bill, it will no longer be possible to evict tenants by relying upon the a Section 21 notice procedure following a complaint about the condition of their home. The courts will now strike out any application to evict in such cases.
For the majority of landlords who look after their properties and tenants, this change will be nothing to worry about. To help protect themselves, landlords should clearly outline how they go about repairs and maintenance in their properties in their contracts and make sure this is pointed out to their tenants on signing the paper work. It’s also important to keep a record of any problems reported by tenants, along with how these were resolved.
If you are a landlord and you have any concerns about how the law affects you, contact Ratio Law.