The much anticipated reforms to the private rented sector have been pushed back, the Evening Standard reports.

Sweeping reforms to the rules that govern residential tenancies were placed on the agenda during Theresa May’s Government in 2019 (and you can find out more about these reforms here). One such reform was to be the abolition of what have become known as “no fault” evictions of assured shorthold tenants which are facilitated by landlords serving a notice pursuant to section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.

This process allows a landlord to serve notice on a tenant to leave a property to expire at or after the end of the term of the tenancy agreement having provided at least two months’ notice. No reason needs to be given and assuming that the landlord has complied with various requirements and served a valid notice, a tenant is unable to challenge the eviction. The new proposals for bolstered grounds under section 8 of the Housing Act 1988 would leave landlords needing to rely on one (or more) of various statutory grounds to obtain possession.

The White Paper on the reforms to the private rented sector that was expected to be issued this Autumn appears to have now been delayed until an unspecified time in 2022. Although this news will be welcomed by many landlords and unwelcomed by many tenants, it would appear to be a stay, rather than an abandonment, of the proposals.

We are tracking developments on our Essential Residential hub and our timeline on the evolution private rented sector which can be found here. 

If you would like to know more about our Real Estate and Disputes expertise or what the reforms mean for you, please contact myself or your usual Charles Russell Speechlys advisor.