No need to panic, just relish the opportunity

The Government’s Fairer Private Rented Sector White Paper has initially caused some consternation and a strong adverse reaction from some within the residential lettings industry.

Among the things causing the most ‘horror’ is the abolition of the ‘no fault’ eviction, where a landlord or letting agent serves a Section 21 notice on the tenant, telling them to quit.

There doesn’t have to be a reason other than the landlord wanting to serve the notice, and some have branded this as an easy way to get rid of ‘difficult’ tenants. Those same tenants regard a Section 21 eviction as a vicious reaction from a ‘difficult’ landlord who doesn’t want to fix faults. The reality is probably somewhere in the middle.

The new rules will still allow a landlord to repossess a property and remove a tenant under certain defined circumstances and hopefully these will be enough to do the job. Impossible tenants will still find themselves on the wrong end of an eviction order, while other landlords will know why they have left their previous home.

The new rules do not say you have to let to a prospective tenant, even though they do say that tenants being on benefits, having children or owning a pet can no longer be blanket reasons for refusing. In an age of social mobility, tenants do not necessarily want to be tied to one place and one of the reasons they rent is so they can up sticks and move to a better-paid job elsewhere.

It’s a luxury many homeowners would love to have but they are restricted by the time it takes to move home. Here’s the opportunity for landlords. Instead of panicking and leaving the rental sector, embrace these tenants and have a good lettings agent to manage your properties, keep on top of issues, ensure good maintenance by making both the landlord and tenant act on their responsibilities, and keep records of all that occurs so, should an eviction be necessary, the evidence is there. Colin Shairp, Director, Fine and Country Southern Hampshire and Town and Country Southern estate agencies, Drayton