Landlords facing eviction issues just months into rental reforms

Landlords are already having issues regaining possession of their properties from problem tenants just months since the introduction of the Renters’ Rights Act.

The rental reforms, introduced in May, abolished no-fault evictions and landlords must now issue a section 8 notice with a valid reason to take possession.

Research by lettings platform Goodlord , based on responses from almost 250 landlords, found a quarter have reported challenges regaining possession of properties from problem tenants.

Additionally, two in five landlords surveyed by Goodlord said they had adopted more cautious tenant vetting procedures to avoid repossession issues and 9% are investing more in tenant retention to avoid turnover.

Goodlord’s poll also highlighted wider impacts landlords are seeing as a result of the Renters’ Rights Act.

The findings found that half of landlords have noticed an increased compliance burden as a result of the legislation, with a further 29% affected by higher compliance and insurance costs.

These findings point to a market where getting tenant selection right the first time is more critical than ever.”

A quarter report higher letting agent fees and 10% have experienced longer void periods between tenancies.

Goodlord also surveyed 2,001 British tenants to understand how the Renters’ Rights Act is impacting their renting experience.

Only 5% of tenants reported being served or threatened with “Section 21-style” evictions since the ban, indicating that the vast majority of landlords are complying with the legislation, and that so far these remain rare under the new rules.

Nishma Parekh, (pictured), Director of Referencing at Goodlord, says: “These findings point to a market where getting tenant selection right the first time is more critical than ever, given how much harder it has become to reverse a bad match once a tenancy begins.

“Our fraud report made it clear that landlords were already facing a costly problem before the Renters’ Rights Act came in.

“Now that possession is harder to secure when things go awry, the cost of signing the wrong tenants has only gone up. It’s little wonder thorough vetting has become the priority for landlords.

“Against this backdrop, landlords and agents need better referencing tools and clearer guidance to manage risk at the point of application, not just at the point of dispute. If landlords lose confidence in the system, it will have knock-on effects for agents and the tenants they serve.”