Commenting on the Liberal Democrats motion for the abolishment of ‘no-fault’ evictions (S21), Tamara Hooper, RICS Policy Manager at RICS said:
“RICS is disappointed by the policy motion passed today by the Liberal Democrats around the removal of s21 ‘no-fault’ evictions which would unfairly unbalance the sector and makes no attempt to address standards within the industry.
“The only way to truly balance the private rented sector (PRS) so that it works for both landlords and tenants is to enforce proper regulation and standards for all who let; a key recommendation we have called on the government for and highlighted within our recently released PRS paper.
“Evictions are rare and three quarters of tenancies are currently ended by tenants. That said, an efficiently functioning sector should allow for landlords to easily evict troublesome tenants whilst also giving security to tenants that they can’t be evicted on a whim, today’s motion did not deliver that.
“One positive of today’s debate, was the welcome proposal for reform of court processes within the Liberal Democrats policy motion but RICS stresses this must come before any removal of s21 ‘no-fault’ evictions in partnership with strengthening of s8.”