18/04/2024

The abolition of no-fault evictions has been much reported in the media. The aim is to protect tenants’ rights and provide greater certainty and security in respect of their homes. With the Renters (Reform) Bill currently moving through the legislative process, and with Michael Gove’s recent pledge that this will become law before the next General Election, we examine what the abolition of no-fault evictions could mean for landlords and tenants.

What are no-fault evictions?

At present, a landlord who wishes to recover possession of their property from a tenant (which is let under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and which is outside or beyond the first four months of its fixed term) is able to rely on the no-fault procedure as set out in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988. This means that, on giving at least two months’ notice in writing to the tenant (in a prescribed form) and provided certain regulatory requirements have been complied with by the landlord in respect of the tenancy, a landlord can use a section 21 notice to evict a tenant without needing to give any reason for the eviction. The making of a possession order by the court is mandatory and the landlord is entitled to recover possession from the tenant. This sounds straightforward enough but is rarely so in practice.

What prevents a no-fault eviction?

Any assured shorthold tenancy which commenced or was renewed on or after 1 October 2015 requires the landlord to comply with a number of specific regulatory requirements. If these are not complied with, it may mean the landlord cannot use the no-fault eviction procedure and that any no-fault notice that has been issued is invalid. These regulatory requirements include:

• Securing any tenancy deposit with 30 days of receipt;
• Providing a valid gas safety certificate to the tenant at commencement of the tenancy and renewal certificates throughout the tenancy;
• Providing a valid Energy Performance Certificate to the tenant at commencement of the tenancy;
• Providing a copy of the ‘How to Rent’ guide to the tenant.

Many of these regulatory requirements, if not complied with at commencement of the tenancy, can be remedied at a later date to allow a section 21 notice to be served.

However, there are some which cannot be later rectified, which means a landlord will be permanently prevented from seeking possession from their tenant on a no-fault basis.

There are also measures in place to protect tenants from ‘retaliatory evictions’ when they have made a report to the local authority about the condition of the property and the local authority have, in turn, served a relevant notice on the landlord requiring improvements to be carried out. Under these circumstances the landlord Is prevented from serving a section 21 notice for a period of six months.

Recovering possession of a property under the section 21 procedure can be complex and is often not the straightforward tick box exercise that many people may think it is.

What is the alternative to no-fault eviction?

An alternative to the no-fault procedure, is for landlords to seek possession of their property by serving notice under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988, relying on one or more of the statutory grounds provided. These are commonly referred to as ‘fault’ grounds, although in reality many of these grounds do not require fault on the part of the tenant for the landlord to seek possession.

Some of the grounds are mandatory, so if they are met, the court must make a possession order; whereas others give the court discretion to grant possession if they consider it reasonable to do so in the circumstances.

The length of notice to be given varies depending on the grounds relied on but will be between two weeks and two months.

Abolition of no-fault evictions under the Renters (Reform) Bill

The reforms proposed under the Renters (Reform) Bill will result in the abolition of no-fault evictions, meaning a landlord will no longer be able to recover possession of their property without meeting one or more grounds for doing so.

To counter this reduction in the landlord’s ability to recover possession, the Renters (Reform) Bill will introduce additional statutory grounds for recovering possession under the section 8 procedure. Chief amongst these will be the introduction of:

• A landlord’s ability to recover possession where they wish to sell the property with vacant possession; and
• A landlord being entitled to recover possession in circumstances where they wish to allow close family to occupy the property (close family to include the landlord, their spouse or civil partner, parent, grandparent, sibling, child, grandchild, or a child or grandchild of the landlord’s spouse or civil partner).

What will the abolition of no-fault evictions mean in practice?

Under the current regime, there are no statutory grounds for a landlord to seek possession of their property from a tenant to either sell it or for their family to occupy it. They would need to fall back on the no fault process to recover possession and if that is not available to them (for example, due to regulatory non-compliance), the landlord is left in a very difficult position of trying to prove one or more of the current ‘fault’ grounds. If the tenant will not voluntarily give possession, that landlord is left indefinitely with a tenant in occupation of their property.

In our experience of handling possession claims on behalf of landlords, it is almost never the case that a landlord wants to recover possession of a property without an underlying reason (they very rarely want possession of the property ‘for the sake of it’). Landlords most often want the property back to occupy it themselves, let it to a family member, or to sell it with vacant possession. Many landlords also use the no-fault procedure as a quicker and more certain avenue to recovering possession from a tenant who has fallen into rent arrears (particularly where they know recovery of the arrears from the tenant is unlikely due to their financial circumstances).

While it remains to be seen how the reforms will operate once enacted, it appears that there is scope for the expanded statutory grounds for possession to make it easier for a landlord to recover possession of a property from a tenant. It is currently not clear what the evidential thresholds will be in meeting these new grounds. For example, will a landlord need to present proof of marketing the property to rely on the ground that they wish to sell?. Equally, we do not yet know what the consequences may be if one of the new grounds is relied on, when the landlord’s intention with the property is actually outside the scope of the ground. What if, say, they wish to let the property to a friend rather than close relative?

There are sure to be a number of developments before the Bill is enacted, it certainly appears on the face of it that the reforms in relation to possession claims could actually cause little change to the somewhat precarious nature of a tenant’s occupation of a rental property, and the volume of possession claims being processed through the courts.

Need advice on no-fault eviction?

For expert advice on no-fault eviction or any landlord-tenant dispute, contact our dispute resolution solicitors by emailing enquiry@beswicks.com or calling our Stoke-on-Trent solicitors on 01782 205000 or our Altrincham solicitors on 0161 929 8494.