According to the research, the private rented sector would shrink by 20% if Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions are abolished, and there would be a 59% reduction in housing available to tenants on housing benefit or Universal Credit as well as a potential increase in rents for 13% of properties.
The report also suggested a possible solution, a reformed court process that made dealing with Section 8 cases faster and cheaper could nullify the removal of Section 21 for many landlords. However, the PRS would still see a likely reduction of between 180,000-390,000 homes, between 130,000-300,000 fewer homes available to benefit claimants, and rent increases for between 110,000-240,000 properties.
Chris Norris, Director of Policy and Practice at the NLA, says: “The Government has clearly failed to recognise the realities of the private rented sector by proposing the abolition of Section 21.
Any government which thinks it appropriate to risk the loss of nearly 1 million rental homes at a time of housing crisis needs to reassess its priorities as a matter of urgency. Rather than playing to the gallery, the Government should be looking to support and incentivise good landlords to remain active and provide homes to those who need them, rather than making it harder and causing these landlords to exit the market.”
Tom Gatzen, co-founder of room share platform ideal flatmate, commented: “For far too long there has been an overreliance on the rental sector to house those that can’t afford to buy as a result of the Government’s consistent failure to provide more affordable housing.
We’ve already seen the rental landscape evolve with more renters having to rent rooms rather than outright properties due to high financial barriers, and the abolition of Section 21 will only see this increase as demand grows and the number of available properties declines.
While the latest shake-up of the sector has been done with the best intentions of tenants at its core, such a drastic move needs to be better thought through and complemented with additional policy changes, to ensure the sector remains viable for the landlords that form its foundations.
As it stands, those most in need are in line to be hit the hardest, while the rest of us will see yet more of our income go towards covering our rent.”
