Government Proposes Protections for Tenants Against Unfair Evictions
The TSP Civil and Commercial Dispute Resolution team, sets out the recent government proposals to changes in the legal regulation of residential tenancy relationships between landlord and tenant.
The government has set out proposals that would mean landlords would not be able to evict tenants simply because they have asked for essential repairs to be made - the practice increasingly becoming referred to as ‘retaliatory eviction’.
According to the Policy Statement on amendment to the Deregulation Bill published this month, Landlords would also be prevented from serving a valid eviction notice on tenants in circumstances such as:
- Where a health and safety hazard has been identified by environmental health officers.
- Where the Landlord fails to protect a deposit
- Where the Landlord does not have a licence they are required to hold
- Where the Landlord has failed to obtain Energy Performance Certificates
However, amendments have also been made to ensure that tenants cannot use the rules to frustrate legitimate evictions for non-payment of rent or anti-social behaviour.
The government claims the proposals are designed to strike the right balance, so they only target bad landlords and cannot be used by tenants to frustrate legitimate evictions, and also avoid excessive regulation, which would push up rents and restrict supply in the private rented sector, reducing choice for tenants.
For more information on how the TSP Dispute Resolution team can help with your landlord and tenant queries, whether you are an individual or a business, contact them here.