Local government leaders have welcomed the announcement of proposals to stop landlords evicting tenants without a good reason.
The Local Government Association (LGA) hailed the Renters’ Reform Bill announced by housing secretary Michael Gove as ‘a significant step towards tackling our national homelessness crisis’.
The bill will scrap the right to evict tenants without having to prove any problem, known as Section 21 notices or ‘no fault’ evictions.
It will also give councils more powers to tackle rogue landlords, digitise the court process and bring in a new ombudsman to speed up decision-making.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) claimed the proposals would make the supply of rented accommodation worse unless they were assured they would be able to evict tenants quickly when they had a good reason for doing so.
However, LGA housing spokesperson Darren Rodwell said: ‘We are pleased to see that the Renters’ Reform Bill will take steps to ensure private renters have a home that is safe and stable, increasing the rights of tenants and enabling people to better hold their landlord to account.
‘The removal of “no fault” evictions is a significant step towards tackling our national homelessness crisis, and we are also glad to see the introduction of an Ombudsman for the private rented sector, as an additional mechanism for tenants to seek appropriate redress from their landlord.
‘Improved access to data on the private rented sector and mandated landlord registration through the Property Portal will also increase councils’ oversight of and ability to enforce against the small minority of landlords guilty of criminal behaviour.
‘The LGA will continue to work with the Government to ensure that councils have the right powers, skills, capacity and resources to undertake effective enforcement activity to improve standards in the private rented sector.’
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