Eviction expert Paul Shamplina has warned of an impending social housing crisis when Section 21 is abolished.
Speaking on a panel at the Landlord National Investment Show, Shamplina said many landlords used Section 21 when there were rent arrears because there was no money order on the court order, so a tenant could go to the council at the eviction date and ask to be rehoused.
'The unintended consequences are that when section 21 goes'�there'll be loads more section 8 rent arrears cases, and those tenants won't be able to be rehoused, because we have a social housing crisis,'� the Landlord Action boss said.
'The government really have got to bring it in very slowly because if they rush it, it could be fatal.
"We are still waiting to hear about [what the Government plans to do about] housing courts; prior to Covid they were on the agenda but we haven't heard anything since.
"The courts are getting slower and, when the date of Section 21 going is announced, you will see lots of landlords panic and serve section S21s because they are already worried about the court system - albeit let's be clear evicting a tenant is a last resort."
Debating the topic '�Will landlords be reformed out of the sector?' fellow panellist, Property Tribes' Vanessa Warwick, said the government seemed to be trying to control everybody's assets without providing any themselves. 'Lenders need confidence too,'� she said.
'It's very important for lenders to know that they can get repossession if a landlord goes into default with the mortgage.'�
Warwick (pictured) added that while central government was trying to deter landlords, local government was crying out for them and offering golden hellos. 'It's ridiculous that there's such a dichotomy in their understanding.'�
Media property expert Russell Quirk agreed that there was a fundamental misunderstanding of landlords by the government, which was ironic given that a vast majority of Conservative MPs were landlords themselves.
'Property is an easy win for government in terms of headlines which pander to the tenant demographic, so they can gain power in the next election,'� added Quirk.
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