Landlords to be given more powers to evict tenants for antisocial behaviour
Landlords in England will be able to evict tenants for antisocial behaviour more easily as part of a wider package of reforms to the rental market, after heavy lobbying by industry organisations and Conservative backbenchers.
Michael Gove will use the renters’ reform bill, which could be introduced to the Commons as soon as next week, to strengthen landlords’ rights when it comes to dealing with alleged antisocial behaviour.
The move is designed both to reduce antisocial behaviour and to allay landlords’ concerns as the housing secretary also prepares to bring an end to “no-fault” evictions. But charities warn it could also harm victims of domestic abuse, who are often accused mistakenly by neighbours of antisocial behaviour because of the violence happening within their homes.
Deidre Cartwright, the senior housing manager at Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, said: “We welcome the fact that no-fault eviction is ending. But the worry is that by expanding the grounds for landlords to evict people for antisocial behaviour, the government is creating a back door for landlords who otherwise would have used the no-fault route.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We will bring forward legislation very shortly, which will include a ban on no-fault evictions, so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions.”
The centrepiece of the bill will be a ban on property owners evicting tenants without showing any fault on the tenants’ part, something some landlords do as a way to put up rents before a contract ends.
The ban fulfils a manifesto commitment the Conservatives made in 2019 and is part of a push by Gove to refocus Tory
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