Removing Section 21 might not provide the hoped-for feelings of security and encourage tenants to complain when rental homes are in short supply, warns a housing charity.
The TDS charitable foundation’s poll of 2,000 private renters found that a lack of affordable accommodation influenced tenants’ willingness to escalate complaints and request energy efficiency upgrades.
Its report – Living in the PRS in 2023 – explains: “There is a risk that even with the removal of Section 21, tenants will be reluctant to raise complaints and the new landlord ombudsman will receive a low number of complaints.
“We therefore invite the government to think more expansively about the range of factors that influence feelings of security and avoid assuming that tenancy law is the main or only driver of tenant behaviour.”
Most tenancies are ended by the tenant rather than the landlord, according to the charity, with only 12% of tenants who moved in the last 12 months doing so because the landlord asked them to leave.
changing needs
Moves in the rental sector are largely related to changing needs or preferences of occupants, such as wanting a larger or smaller home, or job-related reasons.
Read more: Will Section 8 be enough when Section 21 evictions go?
The findings reveal that while many tenants believe that the energy efficiency of their property could be improved, they are reluctant to do so in case the landlord increases the rent (38%) or asks them to leave (25%). However, 39% had requested improvements and of these, 74% were either happy or somewhat happy with the response.
Some of those moving in the last six months encountered problems that the Renters (Reform) Bill aims to address, such as reporting that the landlord/letting agent was unwilling to let to them due to their race, gender, or other personal characteristics (9%), or didn’t want to let to tenants with children (12%) or to tenants on benefits (5%).
Read the report in full.
