Following recent reports that the government will consult on no fault, or section 21, evictions, Adrian McClinton, Partner at Coffin Mew comments:

“The government’s announcement that it is consulting on the removal of ‘no fault evictions’ represents a seismic shift in the private rental sector. The ability to remove a tenant without providing a reason is a landlord’s most powerful tool. It acts as an insurance policy, and the legislators know this. But will the removal of no fault evictions fall foul of the law of unintended consequences?

“Successive governments have attempted to control bad practice by restricting the use of no fault evictions, thus removing this ‘insurance policy’. It started with deposits and the requirement for landlords to protect them properly. Then, the requirement to register the property if it was a House in Multiple Occupation. Then came a whole raft of legislation that requires the landlord to provide information to the tenant on their rights and information on energy efficiency, and to carry out repairs when reported properly.

“One of the powerful incentives for landlords to comply with their obligations was to preserve the ability to use the ‘no fault eviction’ process. The government needs to be careful that by removing the no fault eviction it is not undermining all the drivers that have been put in place to increase standards in the private rental sector. Further, if the government is going to remove no fault evictions, it must take steps to improve and streamline the process for removal of tenants where there is a breach of tenancy.”