Prime Minister’s new anti-social behaviour action plan targets unruly tenants

The government has announced a plan to tighten rights for landlords seeking to evict anti-social tenants as part of its new anti-social behavior action plan.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has unveiled plans to install a new property ombudsman and reduce the notice period for all evictions related to anti-social behavior to two weeks.

The changes are part of a slew of new measures, including increased fines for offenses such as graffiti and illegal dumping, and a ban on nitrous oxide or nitrous oxide.

We look at what we know so far about the new rules and what they could mean for landlords and tenants.

Introduction of an ombudsman

In its new plan, the cabinet has emphasized that differences of opinion between landlords and tenants should be resolved mutually where possible.

However, should this approach fail, the plan will include the introduction of an ombudsman for the rental sector. This organization would have the authority to review cases in the hopes of preventing low-level anti-social behavior from leading to “avoidable evictions.”

There is no timetable yet for when this new body will be established or details of the areas over which it will have jurisdiction.

Easier and faster evictions against unruly tenants

One of the most important proposals in the new plan is to make it easier and faster for landlords to evict antisocial tenants.

First, all private leases will contain clauses that specifically prohibit anti-social behavior – making it easier for landlords to use the lease violation to evict anti-social tenants

Second, landlords only have to give two weeks’ notice to evict antisocial tenants instead of the two months stipulated under current regulations, and no longer have to wait until the end of the tenancy to do so.

Third, changes will be made to make it easier to prove antisocial behavior in court by expanding the grounds for discretionary evictions.2

The government also plans to work with the courts to speed up deportation procedures. It will propose legislation setting out the principles that judges must consider when making eviction decisions, such as whether the tenant has failed to make other interventions.

And efforts will be made to promote the existing tools landlords can use to deal with antisocial tenants.

Outside the private rental sector, there are also plans to renew the social rental system. Evidence of anti-social behavior will be used to ‘prioritize’ tenants, placing them ‘at the back of the queue for social housing’.

There are also proposals to introduce a “three strikes and you’re out” eviction expectation for all social landlords. After three violations, tenants can be evicted and no longer receive housing priority.

News of the changes has been welcomed by the landlord body, the National Residential Landlords Association, which has opposed separate proposals to remove Section 21 “no fault” evictions.

Currently, landlords can evict tenants from their properties without cause as long as they provide the required notice. But the provision will be dropped as part of the Renters Reform Bill, a new law due to take effect in a few years.

Ben Beadle, CEO of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: ‘Unsocial tenants ruin the lives of co-tenants and their neighbours. Plans to end seizures without explanation threaten to make such behavior more difficult to deal with.

While we will carefully study the details of the government’s plans, we welcome its commitment to better empower landlords to evict unruly tenants. It follows extensive campaigning by the NRLA to ensure swift and effective action can be taken against those who cause misery in their communities.”

However, tenant groups have warned that the changes are “an engine for homelessness.”

Freddie Poser, director of campaign group Priced Out UK, said: ‘We are very concerned about these proposals. In a dire housing shortage, landlords already have far too much power. The government should focus on protecting tenants and solving the supply crisis. Do not create an engine for homelessness.’

And Polly Neate, managing director of Shelter, a homeless charity, said: ‘Millions of private tenants across the country are currently living in fear of eviction, which can happen with just a few weeks’ notice and no reason given. It makes rents very unstable and turns lives upside down.

“The government has rightly committed to scrap these Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions in the much anticipated Renters’ Reform Bill.”

“Once these evictions are permanently scrapped, we cannot allow new loopholes for unfair evictions to open. Private tenants deserve real security in their homes.

“Without clear guidelines and safeguards, there is a real risk that the new grounds for anti-social behavior could be misused for deportation.”