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Bill amended to make it fairer for both sides in an eviction

An amendment to the Deregulation Bill by the Government which strikes a balance between protecting tenants from retaliatory evictions, while also preserving a landlord’s right to regain their property without unfair encumbrance has been welcomed by the British Property Federation (BPF).

Amendments to the Bill were published by Communities Minister Stephen Williams and will extend the existing restrictions on a landlord’s powers to evict a tenant. Specifically where they do not protect a deposit or have a licence they are required to hold, alongside situations where a prescribed health and safety hazard has been identified by environmental health officers.

Ian Fletcher, director of policy at the BPF, said: “Landlords will be pleased to see this replacement amendment, which seeks to ensure that tenants who have legitimate complaints against their landlord are able to pursue those with some protection, whilst ensuring spurious complaints cannot be used as an excuse by tenants to avoid legitimate grounds for possession. 

“Much of the push for this law came from local authority inspectors. It is only right therefore that they should have a key role in validating complaints and processing them quickly. Good landlords will support the Government’s desire to pinpoint those who are pursuing bad and often criminal practice. The changes made now allow the sector to coalesce around a better amendment.”

The BPF supports the Government’s intention to make it harder for those who let properties in poor condition and disregard their legal obligations but had been concerned that the original amendments to the Bill, tabled by Peers, would have excused Local Authorities from the obligation to inspect the property during the notice period for possession, thus allowing tenants to potentially make bogus complaints regarding the condition of the property to protect them from possession proceedings with no verification of their complaint. 

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