Not all eviction cases will end up in court, the government has said, after being accused by Conservative leadership contender Kemi Badenoch of pressing ahead with housing reforms that will cause court gridlock.
The Renters’ Rights Bill, which will end section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, had its second reading in the House of Commons yesterday.
Badenoch told the Commons that in 2023, the then levelling up, housing and communities committee warned that provisions in the Conservative government’s Renters (Reform) Bill risked overwhelming current systems and creating a logjam with lengthy delays.
‘This government are pressing ahead with measures that will cause gridlock in our justice system, and pit landlords and tenants against each other in protracted litigation,’ Badenoch said.
Liberal Democrat MP Gideon Amos said the courts needed greater investment if renters and landlord are to have any faith in the courts resolving their disputes over evictions.
However, housing minister Matthew Pennycook said most tenancies end without court action being needed and it would ‘plainly be wrong to assume that all evictions that presently occur following a section 21 notice will in future require court proceedings under section 8 grounds’.
The bill will reduce the number of arbitrary evictions, Pennycook said. ‘We recognise that landlords need a reliable and efficient county court system to ensure that they can quickly reclaim their properties when appropriate, and that we need a well-functioning tribunal process to resolve disputes in a timely manner. We agree that improvements to the courts and tribunals are needed to ensure that the new system functions effectively.’
The housing department is ‘working closely with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice’ to ensure improvements are made, and exploring options for alternative dispute resolution so that only cases that need a judgment come to court.
Asked by Amos if that meant extra funding for the courts, Pennycook replied: ‘I will bring forward further detail as the bill progresses, but those conversations with Ministry of Justice colleagues are ongoing, and they are constructive.’
Yesterday’s debate showed that MPs are not immune to the threat of eviction. Labour’s Luke Charters, who was elected MP for York Outer in July, revealed that he was served with a section 21 eviction notice during the election campaign.
