Blog: Queen’s speech confirms end of Section 21
19 Dec 2019 03:31 PM
Today’s Queens Speech confirmed measures to end Section 21 repossessions and strengthen Section 8.
In this blog first published on Anthony Gold, RLA policy director David Smith writes about they key announcements relating to the private rented sector.
As had been widely trailed the Queen’s Speech included reference to a bill to abolish section 21 possession actions.
While the speech itself was notably light on detail merely making reference to changes to “protect tenants” there is more in the formal briefing document which accompanies the speech.
The Queen’s Speech 2019
The new bill is to be called the Renters’ Reform Bill. As currently proposed it will do the following:
- Abolish section 21;
- Strengthen landlord rights to recover possession through legislative reform, presumably this means reform to section 8 possession grounds;
- Reform court process to improve recovery. Presumably this will not really feature in the bill and will be a separate work stream.
- Make the information on the rogue landlord database more available to the public. Naturally this will only be as useful as the data that is there in the first place.
Landlords and agents may also be concerned about the further reforms that might potentially be tacked on to the bill at a later stage and the manner in which the existing changes will work. Much will presumably rest on the government response to the existing consultation on ending s21.
For the PRS this bill will make 2020 a big year and one that will keep all concerned very busy.