Shelter’s report needs more work-RLA

17 Jun 2019 02:17 PM

RESPONDING to a report published today by Shelter which calls for England to adopt Scotland’s model of indefinite tenancies in the private rented sector, David Smith, Policy Director for the Residential Landlords Association said:

“Shelter fails to recognise key differences between England and Scotland.

“The only reason the Scottish model has worked is because a properly funded and staffed housing court was established to cope with the dramatic increase in repossession cases needing to be heard.

“Across England and Wales it takes an average of over five months for landlords to repossess properties through the courts. This is not good enough.

“We call on Shelter to back the RLA’s plans for a dedicated housing court that can process repossession claims in legitimate circumstances without frustrating landlords. Simply tinkering with the existing courts will not work.”

David Smith continued:

“It is also disappointing that in arguing that changes in Scotland have affected the supply of homes for rent, Shelter has used figures from before the changes were introduced.

“As the latest data from the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors notes clearly, whilst the demand for new homes to rent has increased considerably in Scotland, new landlord instructions have fallen, providing less choice for tenants.”

Notes:

• The Ministry of Justice’s Mortgage and landlord possession statistics can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/800284/Mortgage_and_Landlord_Possession_Tables_2019_Q1.xlsx. Table 6a shows that in the first quarter of 2019 the mean average time taken for a private landlord to make a claim to the courts to repossess a property and it happening was to 21.6 weeks.