The Government has reiterated its intentions to press ahead with the abolition of section 21 evictions (sometimes referred to as 'no fault evictions') as part of the reforms proposed in its recently published Levelling Up White Paper.

As reported in November (see Terminating 'no fault' evictions – a stay of execution?, Samuel Lear (charlesrussellspeechlys.com)), these proposals have been subject to delay, but it would now appear that a separate White Paper will be released in the Spring setting out further details of the reforms.

As well as the end of no fault evictions, the proposals include the introduction of a legally binding Decent Homes Standard in the Private Rented Sector, a National Landlord Register and "bringing forward other measures to reset the relationship between landlords and tenants".

This news will be welcomed by many tenants in the Private Rented Sector and landlords will be eagerly awaiting the detail of what changes will be made to the statutory grounds on which landlords will need to rely in order to evict tenants, and whether any additional proposals will be made, for example to speed up the Court procedure for obtaining possession, should these new proposals come into effect.

Changes to the private rented sector appear to remain firmly on the Government’s agenda. We continue to track 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 Samuel or your usual Charles Russell Speechlys advisor.