Rural Estates Newsletter February 2023 - Flipbook - Page 7
The paper’s 12-point plan includes the following key points:
1.
abolition of section 21 notices: a landlord will only be able to end the tenancy in
“reasonable circumstances, which will be defined in law”. These are not yet defined,
but may well be similar to the existing grounds for possession for assured
tenancies (ATs).
2.
A new system: all existing and new ASTs and ATs will be moved onto a new single
system of “periodic tenancies”, without fixed terms.
3.
Rent control: it is proposed only to allow rent increases once a year, to end the use
of rent review clauses and to improve a tenant’s ability to challenge excessive rent
increases through the First Tier Tribunal.
Hard cases make bad laws, and regulations targeted at irresponsible landlords in the
sector will place substantial burdens on responsible landlords. The section 21 notice was
a simple means by which landlords could deal with the chronic non-payer of rent or the
tenant whose disruptive and anti-social behaviour was a problem in the community. It
will no longer be possible for landlords to deal with problem tenants without going to the
disproportionate cost of legal proceedings. Further, in an inflationary period, controls on
rent may mean it is difficult or impossible for landlords to make rental yields stack up.
“
This means that the no doubt well-intentioned proposed changes may well have some
less happy consequences; it is arguable that the double-whammy of increased security
of tenure and rent control could have a negative effect on some housing conditions if
responsible landlords exit the sector or lack incentive to invest in the fabric of
their properties.
The proposal ... would have radical implications for
the private rented sector in England. Landlords need
to start thinking about what it means for them now.”
It is interesting to compare the new system of occupation contracts recently introduced
in Wales (discussed in Alice’s article on page 14). Wales stopped short of abolishing no
fault eviction entirely; the new system retains the ability to do so, albeit on a longer
time frame.
The proposals are born of complex political questions on which there will obviously be
differing views, but landlords across the country will now be asking themselves whether
they are content with their existing AST tenants for the long term.
3. Martyn’s Law and the Duty to Protect
Rural estates which hold events need to keep an eye on the development of the Protect
Duty or “Martyn’s Law” named after one of the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing
in 2017. The aim of the legislation will be to enhance public protection from terrorism at
public venues by placing duties on landowners or site operators in relation to security
systems, staff training and other mitigation measures. A Home Office fact sheet
published in December 2022 indicates that temporary events within defined boundaries
will be within the scope of the new duty – so it looks set to apply to concert events, food
fairs, Christmas bazaars and county shows.
Rural Estates Newsletter
February 2023
7