AIBU to worry about Section 21 ending causing mass evictions?

[Itsabingthin]

Has anyone noticed mass evictions happening due to the section 21 ending? In may the new law will make it harder for landlords to evict tenants so a lot are evicting tenants now, even good ones.

My friend got a surprise eviction notice yesterday and she is in temporary housing as it is. The neighbours opposite me are also getting evicted. These are no fault evictions.

Where will all these families go?

I’d be interested to understand whether the rental system in Europe, where renting long-term is much more common, does actually work well. If so, how come they can do it and we can’t?

Some local councils are buying up the former BTL properties that are coming on the market - this is good news if it increases social housing stock and reduces the insane amount that councils are currently spending on putting people up in temporary accommodation.

Lots of landlords are evicting their tenants now, this is a well intentioned law but the reality is why would you rent out a property if it’s hard to evict your tenants?

All the things that are being banned or addtional requirements for landlords to do, are changing the balance of risk vs reward for landlords. In all financial investments there's a decision to be made for how big a risk of potentially losing money you are willing to accept for the hope of potentially getting more. Under older rules landlords could minimise their risks - eg by excluding people on benefits or with young children who are at the highest risk of failing to pay rent, could refuse pets which are more likely to cause damage greater than the value of the deposit, and could choose not to carry out repairs and maintenance that would be expensive. They could also maximise income by requiring tenants to sign up for a new fixed term regularly rather than allowing rolling contracts. Using all these options made being a landlord more profitable than other investment types, and that has caused house prices to increase significantly. The new regulations are shifting the landscape so that the potential for losing money is much greater - and so naturally people will only stake their capital on a higher-risk investment if the payback is higher ie rents go up. If rents don't go up they will invest their money in other non-housing opportunities and house prices go down.

That would be the final nail in the coffin. Hurrah, you say. The housing market will be flooded with cheap houses. Maybe, but what happens to the people for which home ownership will never be an option? Be careful what you wish for.

The RRA is what Shelter wished for. Try telling the people who are being evicted and at risk of becoming homeless due to scarcity of available rentals that this is a good thing and it’s for their benefit.

Both Italy and New Zealand implemented very strict letting laws skewed in the tenants’ favour and they’re rental market is experiencing the same issues as the UK.

Stupidly, the UK didn’t bother to wait and see what the consequences would be and learn from this - no they’ve ploughed right in with no amendments and the outcome will be the same. Mass evictions.

Plus do you think Black Rock will accept rental controls?

Look at all the huge companies that bought out the small veterinary practices - their prices are extortionate now. Where’s your small reasonably priced vet now? They’ve practically been wiped out. Same will happen with housing. Black Rock et all will be your only option. Try calling them when you’ve got a leak at 10pm on a Sunday night.

Its not an unearned income stream though is it. Houses dont just rain out of the sky into the hands of Peter Rachmann types. A lot of work and expense goes into it and I know of 3 independent landlords who have struggled for years with bad tenants etc, they have just had enough of being out of pocket because some people think paying rent is optional so they are throwing the towel in and selling

I was also surprised at that statement. On two points, a/thinking it’s unearned, and b/that lots of renters are doing so through choice and can easily just buy instead.

Because whenever a big investment firm tries to do this in the UK people assume it’s a massive conspiracy (they want to provide stable secure rental properties the evil bastards!) and demanded they don’t. Then wonder why we have a rental scarcity. So many people just don’t think things through.

Indeed. This would be excellent. Pretty much all government bodies have no money though. Thats why we need to attract private investment to build more rental properties. The UK is trying its hardest to put them off though.

Because some are still making profit, or they’re fearful about selling, or they want to leave an asset to their family, or they like the ‘job’? So far, there hasn’t been a landlords exodus that was much predicted last year on here and in the media.

Berliners fought to get rid of corporate landlords. When have corporates ever cared about their ‘customers’. The wouldn’t even entertain buying property if they couldn’t see substantial profit.

Extract from Guardian article:

The successful referendum to expropriate the city’s apartments from corporate landlords is a potential template for Europe

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/29/berlin-vote-landlords-referendum-corporate

https://novaramedia.com/2021/10/04/berlin-just-voted-to-abolish-major-corporate-landlords/

But there has, and it the next set of data will be dismaying. As people now rush to sell before the regulations come in. It’s fine if you have a deposit and can buy, but if you need to rent, it’s going to become very hard.

www.landlordtoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2026/03/uk-private-rental-sector-suffers-largest-decline-this-century/#:~:text=It%20decreased%20by%205.1%25%2C%20despite,in%20a%20row%2C%20says%20Savills%2C

Blackrock are not ‘snapping up’ 130 year old terraces in Huddersfield, or random apartments here and there.
They are buying complete new estates or blocks, so they have complete control over all the costs, and quality.

From 1 May, fixed term tenancies will convert to rolling tenancies, so you are not necessarily all good for another year if your landlords do decide to sell or move back in (both will still be valid reasons to evict - although more notice will need to be given)

Taken from Shelter:

No more fixed term tenancies
There will be no more fixed term assured shorthold tenancies (AST).
If you have a fixed term AST, it will become a 'periodic' assured tenancy.
This means it will not have a set end date.
It will be a 'rolling' monthly or weekly tenancy.
Find out about options when your fixed term tenancy ends.
You will have better protection from eviction because your landlord will need a reason to give you notice to leave.

The decline has been going on for three years, so not completely relevant to the topic.

I had new tenants move in in December just before Xmas because they were evicted with 2 little kids. I felt sorry for them. They said they could afford the rent. So far every month about a week before the rent is due I've had a text begging for extra time to pay, complaints the rent is higher than their housing benefit and have been sent multiple text complaining about minor things including a bedroom door squeeks. DH and I have made the decision to issue section 21 towards end of April which is our only chance as we can't issue to tenants until they have lived there for 4 months. We made final decision when they told us they were expecting again in October. So always complaining that they can't afford rent but having another DC. We can't risk not issuing section 21 as after May 1st it would be much harder. I'm happy with my other 10 tenants though so they won't get notices.

Yanbu more people will be evicted due to it.

Huh? You raised it and said it wasn’t happening, it is, and it’s getting worse. Pretending it’s not relevant because you were given evidence to the contrary to what you said is just odd.

I'm a landlord, and I really don't understand why other landlords are concerned by this.
The end of section 21 stops no fault evictions, but expands the scope of section 8, so I can still serve notice if:

My Tenant doesn't pat the rent
My Tenant is not looking after the property
I want to sell it
I want to move into it

Which are the four sensible reasons for evicting a tenant, which I'd hope never to need to do, but the option is still there.

They didn't want small landlords back, though. They wanted social ownership - housing let our by public sector bodies.

From the article: "The campaign to resocialise housing (Vergesellschaftung) was launched in 2018..."

The new act would still allow eviction under section 8 for not paying the rent.

The clue is in these words; three years.

I think it should be law that when a landlord sells a property, the council or a housing association buys it - to add to their housing stock. Then it can be awarded to a family - or person, or couple, who needs it. So much more social housing is needed. Anyone who is in social housing should absolutely cling onto it for dear life! It's a real gift in this day and age.

I'm so sorry for you @Itsabingthin I really hope you can get social housing soon. Are you on the list? If not, get on it ASAP.

This does show there are a lot of amateur and small time landlords in the game who are over leveraged or cannot understand how to comply with regulation.

The correction is , I think going to be painful for some tenats and landlords but we should never have got in to the position where a large amount of our housing provision was in the hands of well meaning, often over leverages, amateurs renting out a house the inherited from Aunty Doris or a flat they can't sell.

The issue with that is that there are few enough rental properties available for 1-2 people who don’t qualify for social housing. That would surely make things more difficult for them