Legislation agreed to put a stop to retaliatory evictions

A new law banning so-called “revenge evictions” was passed by the House of Lords earlier this month.

The new rules, introduced as part of the Deregulation Bill, will render an eviction invalid if a tenant has previously made a complaint about their housing conditions and not received an adequate response from their landlord. This will restrict the rights to rely on a s21 notice.

Previously a Private Members’ Bill had sought to outlaw revenge evictions, but was filibustered in November last year. However, soon afterwards the Government agreed to take action itself, introduced amendments to one of the final pieces of legislation which will hoped to be passed by this Parliament.

The new law will have ramifications for hundreds of thousands of landlords and tenants each year, although groups such as the National Landlords Association have concerns.

Chris Norris, the NLA’s head of policy, said that the organisation had yet to see any credible evidence of a need for additional legislation.

“The Government has been distracted from the business of ensuring that existing legislation, intended to protect tenants and landlords from genuine criminals, is enforced properly.

“At best this is will be a burdensome nuisance for the majority of good landlords. At worst it will further mask the actions of criminals who abuse their tenants, while regulators struggle to differentiate between those in genuine need and vexatious troublemakers.”

Our experts at Royds can provide comprehensive advice on all aspects of residential property letting legislation. For more information contact Chris Rodda ([email protected]).

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