Councillor warns Section 21 evictions fuel homelessness as landlords leave PRS

The councillors are right on one point, I will be selling up due to RRB and new EPC legislation.

Thank you for the advice.

It shows how difficult it will be . Non paying property damaging tenants . Get all the resources the Government can offer. And when after months you do finally get a Bailiff out , An hour before Eviction the Council will apply for Breathing Space so your back for another three months.

Reply to the comment left by Northernpleb at 30/07/2025 – 12:35
Another reason to sell up and stick the cash in the bank and (for example) a portfolio of tracker funds.

You’ll have a less stressful life and more control over your investments.

Reply to the comment left by Jo Westlake at 30/07/2025 – 09:44
Section 21 was always a backstop for the landlord, a deterrent of last resort. Now selling up will be the last resort. While some landlords would re-let as soon as possible after a section 21 eviction, this will not be an option in the future.
There has been no real guidance on how the selling up process will work. You need vacant possession to get the best price. So a landlord would really only want to market a property once it is empty. Arranging viewings with a tenant in place will be difficult and you don’t want a resentful tenant pointing out defects during a viewings. I have heard rumours that if evicting your tenant to sell up will cause them hardship (define hardship) a sale could be blocked. This seems unlikely but does anybody know for sure?

I believe that once the Bill is enacted you will need to give the tenant 4 months notice.

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 30/07/2025 – 08:56
Don’t worry, once they find that section 8 is the leading cause of homelessness, they will have to do something about that as well!

Reply to the comment left by Cider Drinker at 30/07/2025 – 08:56
Hi Jo, I too became a landlord in 1998 with 30+ tenants at any one time, but sadly have had to go through multiple Section 21 evictions over the years. Rent payments are of course my ‘bread and butter’ so why would I wish to evict anyone who was fulfilling their tenancy agreement responsibilities fully? The only time I have resorted to using an S21 has been either for gross 2000+ rent arrears or very serious anti-social behaviour issues effecting co-tenants in HMOs and/or neighbours in an extremely serious way. I have tried to be gracious and lenient to the nth degree (trying to be a ‘good landlord’. But there comes a time when you realise these types of people are wired in such a way that they will unfortunately ‘milk it’ whenever they experience the gracious behaviour of a ‘good landlord’. They will milk it for as long as you are prepared to offer your services- for free !! So I’ve sometimes needed to have a reality check with such people and then begin the eviction process. I never want to do this. It always generates the most work load as a landlord when any tenant leaves, however, as a last resort it’s necessary. At that point the section 21 has been the most efficient way (still can take 9 months) to regain a property. This, however imperfect, felt like a failsafe backstop for me as a landlord when I had tried every other possible avenue with problem tenants. However with section 21 being removed, I feel extremely nervous, that the legal system will not provide me with the same failsafe that the S21 provided, for these impossible tenants where you have reached the end of the very gracious line with them ! If we as landlords don’t have the teeth (legally speaking) to effectively deal with these ‘end of the line’ tenants efficiently where we as good landlords have tried every other gracious avenue, then the justice system is not protecting us correctly to provide our services as landlords. Unless this is rectified, no wonder, there will be a landlord exodus, as the article observations are pointing to. I want to hang on in there as a good landlord trying my best to survive the last 10 years or anti-landlord legislation starting with Osborne. But I’ve been pushed to the limits financially and on the brink of not being able to survive much longer. I have 11 properties with 35+ tenants who will all need to be rehomed, if I go under as a landlord. Hopefully the government will realise that with the cumulative effects of all the changes since Osbournes, tax grab in 2015, and more since, that, enough in enough. The PRS has been reduced to being on it’s knees. I hope the government will realise before it’s too late for the PRS and the tide of anti-landlord sentiment from the government will turn. They need us for a good economy. But for some reason they want to try to stamp us out.

Reply to Disillusioned Landlord
Section 21 has saved more Tenants than Landlords. As a Landlord I

Reply to the comment left by Disillusioned landlord No.153976 at 30/07/2025 – 17:49
I agree with everything you have said here