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Landlord Action founder Paul Shamplina says the government must set a date for Section 21 abolition to give all sides of the rental sector some certainty.
This week the House of Commons finished its deliberations on the Renters Reform Bill and agreed an amendment to the original Bill which said S21 abolition would not happen until it was clear that court processes were up to speed to handle alternative eviction methods.
However, no date was set - infuriating activists who want certainty the measure will actually make it into law.
Shamplina, for very different reasons, also wants a deadline.
He says: “Undoubtedly, court reforms are necessary to ensure the system can effectively handle the increase in Section 8 proceedings resulting from the abolition of Section 21. Without adequate preparation, there is a risk of overburdening an already strained legal system, leading to further delays and inefficiencies that could adversely affect both landlords and tenants. In 2019 when the bill was announced my very words were ‘ You cannot ban section 21, until we have clarity the courts can work, so landlords have confidence’.
“However, what's equally crucial is clarity and commitment from policymakers regarding the timeline for implementing these court reforms. Landlords, as well as tenants, require assurance that any changes to the rental landscape will be accompanied by measures to streamline the legal process and provide timely resolution to disputes.”
Shamplina - a regular contributor to Landlord Today’s weekend features section - continues: “It’s important to recognise that the uncertainty surrounding the future of Section 21 has already led many landlords to sell their properties. This trend ultimately impacts tenants by shrinking the pool of available rental properties, leading to increased competition and potentially higher rents.
“In this context, a clear commitment to timely court reforms is not only crucial for landlords' peace of mind but also for maintaining a healthy rental market that serves the needs of both landlords and tenants.
“A transparent roadmap outlining the steps and timeline for court reforms would provide much-needed clarity to all parties involved, allowing landlords to plan accordingly and ensuring all parties have access to fair and efficient legal recourse.
“In essence, while I agree that court reforms are necessary to accommodate the almost certain increase in Section 8 proceedings (approximately another 30,000 hearings a year), a clear commitment to when these reforms will be implemented is essential to provide landlords and tenants alike with the certainty and confidence they need to navigate the evolving rental market landscape.”
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Courts need reforming first. That’s a difficult process. That’s too difficult to set a date for in itself. Why set a date for S21 abolishment only to be tied to it? Better of having the uncertainty than have the certainty here.
Absolutely right.
Totally agree 👍🏻 If there is a date, then court reform or not, they will go ahead and scrap it 😬😬. This is a crazy suggestion.
Couldn’t agree more and Paul Shamplina above anyone, imagine that demanding a date for removal of Section 21.
The Kenton man that used to help landlords get their own property back.
I knew it was a sad day that he got roped in by NRLA and making him a Director t in some Company scenario.
Good heavens now looking for Certainty of the total Collapse and demise of the Private Rented Sector, obviously a Market Crash and Recession which is what they are causing, so why the hurry to remove the bases of all Private Renting.
If they want to do it properly its going to take at least 5 years. Find the extra premises, recruit the magistrates/judges, create the processes, implement them, beta test it all for at least 18 months. Bear in the mind the current court system is already on its knees, we arent starting from a position of strength either.
Paul Shamplina appears to make his money by taking people through the long winded court process. It's no wonder he wants to abolish the simple,cheap and effective section 21.
He's either nuts or just looking for self promotion (likely).
The fact is that it's impossible to KNOW how long it will take to reform the judicial process and resources necessary to deal with the anticipated volumes, not least because it's not been done before, the courts currently can't cope with existing volumes in reasonable timeframes and because the process has to continue in operation during the changes. How then can anyone put a date on when the process will be completed and ready?
Paul might love the idea of more chaos to make more money but to the rest of the world it's nuts!
Michael Gove already has a timeline for improving the courts so they can handle evictions more efficiently - the clear date he has set is NEVER.
We all know this, that’s why he’s dropped the pre-requisite of the courts being improved - because it will never happen and he’s tired of being hassled by activists so once again he’s rolled over and given them what they want.
It looks like Paul Shamplina has joined the Dark Side. 😱😱😱
Annoyed- He was always on the Money side
I would like to know a time scale for section 21 and for epc C then that will give me time to warn my tenants ( who are lovely and been with me 12 years) that they will have to leave as I’m selling up because of these two things. Who suffers here?
Until the General Election result this is all a bit pointless
I absolutely agree Andy.
The RRB will be totally different under Labour
I am not sure that it is realistically possible to reform the Court System within any acceptable time frame.
The courts already deal with civil, criminal, family, and multiple other matters,
Housing needs its own equally represented ‘governing body’ with authority to adjudicate exclusively on housing matters.
Agreed a completely separate housing court could work
Agree. The legal system is not fit for purpose. Fundamental reform required.
A separate housing court would need to be unbiased!
unbiased fat chance of that
Truth is a Labour government will likely ban all evictions on day one so those varacating as to if and when RRB is implemented will be neither here nor there.
Sad to say, but I suspect this will come about 😬😬 and rent control 🤷♂️💰
The confusion and worry about the ending of Section 21 and inadequate Court procedures is deliberate government policy. It is the government's intention to remove most private landlords and replace them with global capital funded Build to Rent schemes or other investment vehicles.
Corporate capitalism can't make money and is dying so the game is to take over private capital businesses and create a neo-feudalism where "they" own everything & the masses rent everything. Never forget the World Economic Forum (WEF) advert & catchphrase: "you'll own nothing & be happy."
And the then Prince Charles publicly said that there needed to be a "great reset".
And a Labour government will be even worse; they are even more in bed with global capital than the Tories who at least have some old school conservatives in their party.
I can’t understand why the Courts should be involved at all. The Agreements are entered into freely by both parties, that’s the way it should start and that’s the way it should end.
Everyone raving about Courts, the Court shouldn’t be involved only as a last resort, like how it was so all this bull sugar legalisation clearly is not required other than Gove wants his chums Corporate & Built to Rent to take over.
Section 21 was one sided in favour of the Tenants. I didn’t use it very much because of the cost each time it took months cost £2k + vat at least and loss of Rent. It seems to they’ll want us to go to Court every time to get our property back, then that’s not free enterprise or a Business.
So out of several hundreds Tenancy Agreement over the last 46 years only issued it 6 times and only 4 Court Cases although it didn’t exist for the first 10 years when I had Corporate lets due to no S.21 that I campaigned hard for and one was at that time when Yvonne Fletcher got shot. I had Libyan Diplomats unfortunately their Government stopped paying them & they stopped paying me.
It would be interesting to find out from housing statistics used by government and local authorities to plan for housing need, what % exactly do they expect the PRS to contribute to total housing provision. I recall in the pre2000 era the expectation/projection was 21% of total housing. And then began the gradual demonising of private landlords, starting with Toby Blair's obsession with businesses being denied any public money. So Special Grants and SC flat grants were abolished and housing grants generally were then means tested. HMO licensing followed, with councils using HMO landlords as cash cows to fund staffing and wave the big stick over landlords. Tax benefits abolished. Landlords blamed for twenty years of housing policy failure. As a former PRS EHO specialist, I wonder why any landlord would put up with it. And I further wonder why landlord associations roll over and play the government's game.
To be honest, landlord's cash is better invested in a building society.
And it's about time the associations became more militant. Push back on a huge scale is required. Time to set out a list of landlord demands including restoration of tax breaks, grant aid for fire safety measures, efficient and effective eviction procedures and restoration of reputation...because without private landlords this country would be a housing basket case.
Well said Dqborah, nail on head
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