A Government Minister has pledged to make changes to the courts to speed up the ability of landlords to repossess properties in legitimate circumstances in England.
Housing Minister Heather Wheeler, who has responsibility for the Private Rented Sector has told the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), that she backs reform after hearing how long it can take through the courts system.
Writing to the organisations she acknowledged that landlords can find the courts process unduly slow and complex and pledged to move to change the law. But she said that changes in the law, the court process, and resourcing will need to go hand in hand with tenancy reform.
She said that ‘the vast majority of landlords provide their tenants with a decent home and good quality service’ and that ‘few landlords evict good tenants without a sound reason’.
The Minister confirmed that following the decision to get rid of Section 21 evictions, the Government will ensure the changes work for both tenants and good landlords. She said that she is looking forward to working closely with the RLA to ensure that the Government’s changes to the sector are got right.
The RLA is currently surveying the landlord community to seek their views on what is required for them to have confidence that they can repossess property swiftly and effectively for legitimate reasons.
‘The Minister’s comments are welcome. As the RLA has long argued, landlords are left frustrated at almost every stage where they want to repossess property through the courts,’ said David Smith, Policy Director for the RLA.
‘This makes it harder to address the problem of bad tenants including those committing anti-social behaviour who cause misery for their neighbours,’ he added.
