Tories must deliver pledge on repossession powers - trade group

A prominent industry trade group says the new government must honour its manifesto commitment to strengthen the right of “good landlords” to repossess properties where they have good cause to do so.

In the wake of the Conservative win in the general election, the Residential Landlords Association says that the abolition of Section 21, as advocated by the Tory party, must allow for legitimate repossession options.

With rental reform a big manifesto pitch for the new government, the RLA says Tories should also deliver on promises to strengthen the rights of “good landlords” to repossess properties where they have good cause to do so.

“We look forward to working constructively with the government as it develops its plans for the private rented sector” says David Smith, policy director for the RLA.

“With the demand for rented housing remaining strong, it is vital that the Conservatives’ plans for the sector, whilst being fair to tenants, have the full confidence of landlords.

“The election should also be seen as an outright rejection of Labour’s plans for rent controls, they would have undermined investment in the sector, choked off supply and made it more difficult for tenants to find the good quality homes to rent they need.”

Should rental reform move forward, the RLA is calling on ministers to ensure that the new framework provides “clear and comprehensive grounds” on which landlords can repossesses properties in cases such as anti-social behaviour and tenant rent arrears, with guarantees about the timeframes involved for each and measures to prevent abuses by problem tenants.

“This needs to be underpinned by developing a dedicated, properly funded housing court to ensure considerable improvements to the time taken to rule on, and enforce, possession cases” says Smith.