Retaliatory Evictions, the government are backing the private members bill

General Discussion

It seems that despite the RLAs response to the Shelter report on retaliatory evictions, the Minister for Communities and Local Government, Stephen Williams, has announced that the government are backing the bill due to undergo a second reading in the Commons on 28th November 2014.

The bill in its current form has the following objectives:

1. To prevent a landlord from serving a s.21 notice on a tenant within 6 months of service of an improvement notice, a hazard awareness notice or a notice of emergency remedial action under the Housing Act 2004

2. To prevent a landlord from serving a s.21 notice within 6 months of ‘a relevant complaint.’ A ‘relevant complaint’ means notification in writing of any defect which would give rise to the repairing duty under s.11 of the LTA 1985; or that the premises are prejudicial to health (except where that prejudice is a result of tenant neglect); or that a Cat 1 or Cat 2 hazard exists at the premises (for which a local authority environmental health officer’s certificate would suffice)

3. To prevent a landlord from serving a s.21 notice in the absence of a current gas safety or energy performance certificate

4. It will be a defence to a claim for possession if a tenant can show that the s.21 notice was served within the relevant period

5. except where a gas safety or energy performance certificate is absent, a landlord may still recover possession where they have entered into a binding contract for sale of the premises before the court hearing