End to section 21 notices. When will it happen?

[NConthe]

Hi, just wondering if anyone has any insight into how quickly the ban on section 21 notices could come in. Could it be instant with the Royal assent of the bill/law or will there definitely be a period of time whereby landlords can serve a section 21 notice? I can’t find anything definitive

I've looked into getting that insurance before, but none of my tenants have ever been eligible to be insured. For a room in a shared house with a typical London rent of £1000 pcm, the tenant would need to be earning over £44K or thereabouts, which few young houses sharers do.

Similarly, for a whole house at an average £2400 pcm, the combined salaries would need to be upward of £90 K, when in reality these are families with two or three children, a SAHP, and some benefits top ups.

Have I been looking in the wrong place? Is that also your experience?

I can only imagine that, with the increased risks, these insurances will become even more expensive and difficult to get.

Unless you are in Scotland I don't think there are rent reforms. In RRB it just states rents can only be increased once a year and LL must give 2 months notice which is what most LL already do. There is no rent cap in RRB.

If tenants think LL are selling up because of RRB they have not seen anything like what will happen once ECP C become law. I'll be selling 4. I have LL friends and between us we will be selling 26. The problem is the selling will not be even across the country. The houses that will be sold will be Victorian Terraced houses which in some cities make up quite a large proportion of rentals.

I’ve just had to serve s21 and put a house on the market (accepted an offer already) for various reasons.
I don’t know what we would have done if s21 hadn’t been an option.
I have one other rental but it is at the other end of the market (big house, good area, rent is £1500 a month) and I think we will keep that for now… but it’s a worry.

Also my other property was only built in 2007 and is an EPC C already thankfully!

We already have a national scandal of homelessness. The solution is more council housing.

Why? You have a good tenant

I use Foxtons to manage my property and I was offered it through them, not sure who underwrites it. It’s quite easy to see that it will become the norm though. I’m an accidental landlord and I’m genuinely only interested in decent tenants and cover the interest part of the mortgage and any costs with no hassle, I guess you can imagine how that turned out.

This is an interesting thread. I’m a good landlord (i rent out my old home) and have it managed (badly) by an estate agent.
My recent tenants moved out on short notice, with a dispute over the deposit for damage caused by them as highlighted in the independent check out report.
i am struggling to find a new tenant and when I spoke with another potential managing agent this week, they said there will be caveats to getting your property back: eg should you sell, want to return to the property or need to make major alterations.

My landlord insurance already includes legal expenses and cover should a tenant stop paying. But I’ve noticed estate agents are advising you take out similar insurance at a premium (£300 per year).

I have a personal friend who is presently a sitting tenant refusing to leave their privately rented property. Their landlord was returning from abroad and gave them 2 months notice. Even though they’re not on benefits, the council advised them not to move out as they have no where to go. 6 months later and they’re still there, and the landlord is homeless.

For the first time I’m wondering whether I should sell my place or take a risk.

Maybe I’ll wait and see what happens after the 22 October.

I’d check your current landlord insurance small print, you’ll find it doesn’t cover rent due to delays because of backdated court cases and doesn’t cover the first two months of void rent. I think the delays are around 19 months in some areas.

@NContheI mean that I will sell up as soon as I know for sure. Invest the money for an income . I know that my tenant is good but I also know I will have to evict him because he won’t get houses otherwise and I can’t afford to continue like this. Being a good landlord is hard and expensive and I’m better off paying off the mortgage and investing the equity. I don’t have a pension so this was my plan for the future but I just can’t take a chance on it

Why though, if you have a good tenant?

Thank you @HailCeaser I will do that

She has one NOW but that could change and its not worth the risk

I'm sure there used to be a table with clear headings about a bill and what stage it was in terms of progressing through Parliament

I definitely looked at that before the election last year. Have they got rid of it? It was part of the government of Parliament pages.

re Section 21. I'm a bit unclear why people are talking as if this will vanish. I thought they were effectively taking categories from section 21 and putting them under section 8. So rewriting section 8 basically. They can't get rid of wanting your property back because you need to move back into it. Or sell it.

My understanding is the courts are pretty overloaded with these evictions partly because the council tell people to stay put until the bailiffs come. @Hoppinggreen I'm interested about what you've posted.

It makes a fortune for solicitors I'm sure.

My best friend rented her flat out when she worked abroad and in the current situation, I think probably a lot of people won't because the worry of getting your property back is too high.

My mum has also had friends who have struggled when their tenants couldn't pay the rent so they had no mortgage money coming in and then court costs for eviction.

so far, I'm quite unclear how this bill is helping anyone. I fully appreciate I might be missing things. If it's all rubbish, then all it is a concerted effort to get the landlord sector handed over to massive companies.

I've only had really nice landlords who've had one property for a reason like they got married or whatever. Maybe a corporate one will be really efficient - I don't know.

I think this is what loads of uncertainty around the bill has created.

I definitely looked at that before the election last year. Have they got rid of it? It was part of the government of Parliament pages.

No, they haven't. See Renters' Rights Bill - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament

@prh47bridge thanks so much

Flipping Google being dominated by AI searches!

Test Case: Council advising tenants to stay put after valid s21 notice served
In case anyone is interested

Thanks for the link. Nothing about commencement dates in there, I don’t suppose you have a link to anything that explains the processes, like the new regulations having to be laid before parliament 40 days before you mentioned earlier?

@EmeraldRoulette They can't get rid of wanting your property back because you need to move back into it. Or sell it.

They aren't getting rid of it completely but they are banning fixed-term tenancies and bringing in a rule that Landlords cannot issue notices to vacate during the first 12 months of a tenancy. While tenants can still give 2 months notice during that frst 12 months. So not exactly treating both sides the same.

Under this new leglisalation, if I go abroad for 6 months, where would I live when I got back? Can't take the risk so will take the financial hit and not rent my place out at all.

https://www.savills.co.uk/landing-pages/understanding-the-renters--rights-bill/new-tenancy-rules-for-2025--what-the-proposed-bill-means-for-landlords.aspx

@Hoppinggreen thanks. Ah, the Brentwood case. I know about that one but I was wondering if there was something more recent. I thought that case would open up a flood of similar ones, but I suppose people can't face doing it.

The person I know who had to do it, she wrote to the council and they wouldn't even accept it as a complaint because they said they had done everything they could do!

I heard a financial podcast calling it modern slavery, (being forced to provide a service against your will) but nobody cares because the victims are landlords.

@ProperCupofTea yes I've worked with a few international companies who send staff abroad on placement. My best friend had to find her own rental accommodation abroad - which is fine. But even then I wonder if she would have rented her out in those circumstances.

I agree, it's a carcrash waiting to happen for landlords of older properties. Even our large 1960's purpose built block of flats won't make the ECP C rating as we all have single glazed metal framed windows. Lots of us have secondary glazing installed, at least for bedrooms and mainly for road noise reasons, but that doesn't count towards EPC (AFAIK). Ironically due to communal heating throughout the building, the flats are all toasty warm in winter and most of us like the extra ventilation!

Replacing them is on the long term maintenance plan but will cost thousands per flat and we just cannot afford it right now as we have a major capital works project to do first (the roof replacement so massive cost),That is already hitting the annual service charge which along with big increases in fuel costs for communal heating has increased that significantly.

It's already clear some landlords in the block will be selling up over next few years when current tenancies end (as EPC won't apply to existing tenancies, just new ones.)

The people buying these flats as investments tend to be large commercial companies with no mortgages to pay. They will make a profit regardless, especially if there is a supply shortage and rents go up.

That isn't specific to this legislation. It is the standard process for statutory instruments, which you can read about at Statutory instruments procedure in the House of Commons - UK Parliament

Is this an Act or SI?

Quick google

An Act is a Bill that has been approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and been given Royal Assent by the Monarch.

Statutory Instruments (SIs) are a form of legislation which allow the provisions of an Act of Parliament to be subsequently brought into force or altered without Parliament having to pass a new Act. They are also referred to as secondary, delegated or subordinate legislation.