The government has ruled out setting up a specialist court to deal with landlord-tenant disputes as proposed tenancy reform legislation progressed through parliament yesterday.

After conducting an inquiry into private rented sector reforms, the House of Commons levelling up, housing and communities committee earlier this year called on the government to introduce a specialist housing court.

‘Landlords are perhaps the most concerned about the capacity of the courts to expedite possession claims, particularly in respect of rent arrears and anti-social behaviour, and this is one of our greatest concerns too,’ the committee said. ‘The courts system is already struggling to process housing cases quickly enough. The pressures on the courts will be exacerbated by the repeal of section 21, as landlords will seek to regain possession under section 8, especially in the case of rent arrears and antisocial behaviour,’ the committee said.

However, responding to the committee’s recommendations in a report published last Friday, the government said a housing court was not the best way to improve the process for possession proceedings.

The government said: ‘We consulted on this point and this view was shared by the Ministry of Justice and members of the judiciary who responded to our call for evidence. The cost of introducing a new housing court would outweigh the benefits. A new court would not address the primary concerns raised by users about improved advice and guidance, the complexity and a lack of understanding of the process by users, as well as delays. Improving enforcement of possession orders or improving guidance and signposting to legal advice can best be achieved instead by focusing on improving existing processes, rather than by introducing a specialist court.’

Yesterday, the Renters (Reform) Bill had its second reading in the House of Commons. Housing secretary Michael Gove told MPs that section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions would no longer be used by ‘unscrupulous’ landlords to silence tenants who complain about the quality of their home or intimidate them into accepting excessive rent rises.However, this reform has now been placed on indefinite hold pending moving changes to the legal process including more of the process online.

MPs have voiced concern about changes that will see anti-social behaviour become a mandatory ground for possession and the threshold lowered for establishing such behaviour – concerns raised by law centre solicitor Simon Mullings earlier this year. Yesterday’s debate heard that a tenant in Brighton was evicted because their baby was crying too much and another was evicted because her husband was beating her too loudly.

Gove highlighted the need to ensure the government is clear about what constitutes anti-social behaviour.

Gary Scott, partner at law firm Spector Constant & Williams, said: 'Renters will be disappointed by the news that the abolition of the s21 “no reason” eviction is likely to be delayed indefinitely and be linked to court reforms.

'The court system is already buckling under the weight of possession claims and would be unable to withstand the pressure of further contested claims, which would require substantial additional court time under the present system. It is therefore a practical and sensible step to link the implementation of the abolition of s21 to changes in court efficiency and process.

'Unfortunately, for tenants who believe that the end of s21 evictions will be a good thing, there don’t appear to be any such plans afoot for reform and it is highly questionable whether there is yet sufficient political will to carry out the requisite investment and reform that would be needed to deliver a high quality and fairly balanced service for the private rental sector.'

 

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