Landlords angered by minister saying their renters' reforms fears are 'alarmist'

Private landlords have criticised a Government minister, accusing him of dismissing evidence and wrongly describing their position on flagship renters' reforms as "alarmist".

Matthew Pennycook has rejected warnings of a looming capacity crisis in the courts when the planned end to Section 21 "no fault" evictions comes into force, a letter from the chief executives of five national organisations representing landlords said.

The letter, dated November 20 and shared with the PA news agency, suggests the Government could become embroiled in another row with another major sector following the farmers' protest over changes to inheritance tax.

The organisations dismissed the minister's perceived implication that landlords stand in "fundamental opposition" to reforms under the Renters' Rights Bill, which introduces safeguards for tenants.

Giving evidence during the committee stage of the Bill on November 5, Mr Pennycook was questioned over concerns that the courts and tribunal system is at risk of being overwhelmed by the changes a factor that prompted the previous government to delay system reform.

Mr Pennycook claimed official figures show landlords' applications for court orders to evict tenants were being dealt within an acceptable period.

He said: "Figures for April to June 2024 show that (possession) claim to order median timeliness is 8.1 weeks, suggesting that - I am not necessarily attributing this to the shadow minister - some of the more alarmist statements about the readiness of the county court system may have more to do with fundamental opposition to the abolition of Section 21 and the current tenancy regime than they are an impartial assessment of court performance."

In response to the comments, the organisations said they had been clear that Section 21 is ending and "want to work constructively with the Government to deliver a robust new system that is fair for both tenants and responsible landlords".

It added: "Our evidence has been neither 'alarmist' nor due to 'fundamental opposition' to the changes proposed and we are disappointed that it appears the Government is dismissing it."

The letter added: "We would have preferred to address these issues with you in private but given the absence of a reply to our previous correspondence, and the inaccurate portrayal of our concerns in Parliament, we will be making this letter public and also providing it to those copied."

The organisations highlighted that the Labour-chaired Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee said last year that the courts were at risk of being overwhelmed by the changes, adding that the Law Society expressed similar concerns.

They also pointed out that Mr Pennycook said the court system was "on its knees" during a debate on the Bill in the Commons on October 22.

The letter went on to argue that the minister's reference to the 8.1-week timeframe for processing claims in court is not an accurate measure of performance.

It said: "This data is skewed by the paper-based accelerated possession claims only available using the soon-to-be-abolished Section 21 route which on average took 6.6 weeks and accounted for a third (33.4%) of all possession claims."

"More importantly, a possession order is not the legal end of the process."

"Since then, the latest data for Q3 2024 shows that that the average time for private landlords between claim and actually regaining possession using the Section 8 procedure were 31 weeks as measured by the mean (and) 23.9 weeks as measured by the median."

The organisations said they recognise that improvement in the courts "will not be a pre-condition to ending Section 21" but called on the Government to outline its expectations including what courts being "ready means in practice" to deliver the "necessary reassurance to the sector".

The letter also called on the Government to enter discussions with the sector "shortly" to ensure a smooth transition to a new system, adding landlords are "gravely concerned" about readiness following a suggestion that implementation would take place just two months after the Bill is granted royal assent.

Landlords also called for clarification on when an impact assessment for the Bill, which has completed its committee stage, will be published.

The letter was signed by the National Residential Landlords Association, British Property Federation, Goodlord, Propertymark and Leaders Romans Group.

A Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government spokesperson said: "Our Renters' Rights Bill will fundamentally reform the private rented sector and abolishing Section 21 is a critical step in giving all tenants security from eviction."

"We will of course work closely with landlords to ensure that they are prepared for any changes and we are also working at speed across Government to make sure the justice system is prepared for any changes to caseload."