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88% say they are unaware of a new law
introduced on the 1 October 2015, that is intended to protect them from so called
retaliatory or revenge evictions, according to findings from the leading
landlord association.
The new law, introduced as part of the 'Deregulation Act', will prevent
landlords from ending a tenancy using a Section 21 or 'no fault'
notice if they fail to address a complaint about the state of repair of the
property that is made by their tenant to the local authority.
The National Landlords Association (NLA) is calling on local Councils to
provide a clear framework for how they plan to deal with complaints in order
to ensure that legitimate ones are taken seriously and that spurious ones
don't unnecessarily prolong the possession process.
Richard Lambert, Chief Executive Officer, National Landlords Association (NLA)
said:- "These kinds of evictions are extremely rare but we have to
make sure that complaints by tenants don't just get lost in the system,
regardless of whether they're legitimate or not.
The majority of landlords only choose to end a tenancy if it's absolutely
necessary, so we have to make sure that the system isn't abused by those
simply trying to prolong the evictions process.
We all know that local Councils are under resourced, but housing problems
must take priority. If a tenant complains about a potentially hazardous
issue then both they and their landlord should have a clear expectation of
how and when the Council will deal with it.
If Councils fail to act on complaints then it will undermine the law and
tenants' confidence in a system that's supposed to protect them".
The research, which also asked tenants why their last tenancy came to an
end, found that:-
► Just 9% of tenants feel they were asked to leave a private rented property
after asking for repairs or maintenance to be carried out.
► 82% of tenants say they feel assured by the new law.
► 78% said their last tenancy ended at the their own request
► 15% ended because the landlord wanted to sell the property.
► Just 4% ended because the tenant could no longer afford the rent.
► 1% ended because the tenant was in arrears. |
