The Bill has introduced Ground 1A to be used where the landlord has an intention to sell. Previously a landlord would have used a Section 21 notice if they intended to sell their property without sitting tenants. This new ground is mandatory, which means that if it is challenged by the tenant, or they do not leave, the judge must grant an order for possession. A judge cannot use their discretion whether or not to enforce this ground for eviction if it has been used correctly. There are further grounds which support this, including if the mortgage lender of a property requires repossession of the property in order for it to be sold (Ground 2) and if the property’s lease ends (Ground 2ZA) or the superior landlord of a lease requires repossession (Ground 2ZB).
New grounds have been proposed to ensure that a landlord can repossess their property for specific tenancy requirements, such as if the property is required for use as part of employment (i.e. accommodation tied to a workplace).
Anti-social behaviour
Ground 7A has been amended to change the amount of notice required. This means that if the landlord is seeking repossession due to a conviction of a serious offence, including anti-social behaviour, they can serve notice immediately. However, a possession order can only be granted by a judge 14 days after the notice is served. This is a mandatory ground for eviction. Ground 14 has also been amended so that notice can be served immediately if the tenant is involved in anti-social behaviour, however, this ground is discretionary, meaning that the judge can use their discretion to decide whether this ground applies to eviction. The wording of ground 14 has been amended from “likely to cause” to “capable of causing” nuisance and annoyance. A judge would have to consider if the case met these criteria.
Rent arrears
There have been changes to the grounds relating to rent arrears. Ground 8 can still be used if the tenant is in rent arrears of 2 months or more at the time of serving notice and at the time of the court hearing, however, the ground is not applicable if the tenant is due an award of Universal Credit. Ground 8A is a new ground proposed for repeated rent arrears. This ground can be used where the tenant is in arrears of 2 months or more on three separate occasions over three years.
This new ground is intended to tackle those who repeatedly fail to pay rent on time, but not penalise tenants who have had only one period of difficulty and managed to clear the arrears. Other grounds for rent arrears (grounds 10 and 11) remain the same but the notice period for all rent arrears grounds has now been amended from two weeks’ notice to four weeks.
Court system
The proposed changes to grounds for eviction will mean that more court action is likely to be required by landlords. Not all notices will end in a court procedure, but because the landlord must give a reason (unlike under a Section 21 notice to quit) for eviction, these are open to challenge from a tenant and in some cases are up to the discretion of a judge to enforce. Propertymark has long campaigned that changing the grounds of eviction will cause much more stress for both tenant and landlord and will put an enormous amount of pressure on the, already struggling, court system.
The Renters (Reform) Bill is a significant piece of legislation that will impact on the future of renting across the country.
Through the Bill, the UK Government are extensively altering the grounds for possession, and we’ll be looking for clear explanations of what this means as well as how the grounds can be strengthened – grounds for anti-social behaviour and substantial arrears must be effective.
