Landlord Petition Hits Downing Street
By: Madalena Penny
Today Downing Street will be receiving a petition of 2,000 landlord signatures. The ‘Rebalancing Law Petition’ organized by the RLA (Royal Landlords Association) and other landlord bodies has been created in an attempt to ask the government to reconsider their intended closures of county and magistrate courts.
The proposed closures consisting of over 100 magistrate and county courts throughout England and Wales will add further restrictions on landlords faced with defaulting and troublesome tenants.
Landlords already hindered by lengthy court dates will be expecting a longer waiting time to be granted hearings. Presently, it can take up to 6-months for a landlord to re-gain possession of a property, resulting in a serious amount of rental loss and resulting in BTL lending arrears on properties. Compounded with court closures, the estimated revenue a landlord will lose could well see an increase in BTL repossessions.
Amid a national housing shortage, a worrying trend is emerging that will add to lengthier delays of the eviction process. Private tenants issued with eviction notices are being told by some local authorities to sit tight in their homes until the courts grant an eviction warrant.
Sim Sekhon of eviction specialists, ‘Legal 4 Landlords’ said:
“ The government’s LHA payment policy has been responsible for a major proportion of rent arrears. Court closures will only exacerbate the financial loss that landlords experience through defaulting tenants.”
The ministerial decision to save over £15 million in running costs and £22 million in building maintenance through the closure of the courts has come under strong attack. In their statement under Communities & Government, the department insist they do not want to impede landlords or cause any barriers, however through legislation elsewhere and the impending housing benefit cuts, it would appear that a number of barriers have been provided via an alternative route to hinder landlords and restrict private housing provision.
