Things aren’t getting any better for this Conservative government, as the delays in abolishing Section 21 evictions will only embolden those who say this is a government incapable of keeping its promises.
While I sympathise with the notion that the courts are in dire need of reform and funding, getting rid of Section 21 was a pledge made in 2019. That’s a long time ago now, and the Tories have had years to sort out issues with the evictions process.
As I covered in multiple stories earlier this year, the current court system emboldens criminals, enabling them to use the court system to leave landlords without any rent for months.
This has been a problem for years, and it’s been clear that something needs to be done about it for years. So why has it taken the government until now to launch a review into the court system?
I’m not an expert on the solutions to these problems, but at a basic level, giving the courts a higher level of funding seems like a fair suggestion, as underfunding is often blamed on things being slow.
Perhaps there’s also a way of taking routine cases out of courtroom. What happened to the idea of using a housing ombudsman to relieve pressure on the courts? Do the government not expect this to work?
Something also needs to be done about the shortage of available bailiffs. Is the fact they have to be directly appointed by the courts a problem? Are not enough of them being trained? There’s plenty of problems to figure out – and it shouldn’t have taken this long.
At this rate it seems likely Section 21 won’t be scrapped in this parliament, which would be an embarrassment, after years of talk.
It’s not the only thing being scrapped too, as Michael Gove’s grand ambition of phasing out leaseholds appears to have fallen off a cliff. Is he to blame for making rash promises about it, or should we sympathise with a minister that’s more radical than many of his peers?
Whatever the answer, this isn’t a good look for the Conservatives ahead of the next General Election.
If they don’t keep any of their promises, why should voters expect them to do so in the next parliament?
