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Michael Gove promises long-awaited white paper on Section 21 this week
The government is set to publish its white paper outlining plans to abolish Section 21 evictions this week, Michael Gove said.
Speaking to the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee yesterday, the housing secretary promised that the white paper would be followed by new legislation in parliament which would make the changes law.
Asked when the government would fulfil its commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions, Mr Gove said: “I hope we will publish a white paper later this week and this will be followed hot on its heels by legislation.”
Mr Gove later noted that the white paper would be published on Thursday, 16 June.
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Measures to reform the rental sector were initially promised by Theresa May, the prime minister at the time, in April 2019. Charities have consistently stated that Section 21, known as no-fault evictions, have a detrimental impact on the rental sector and fail to give renters any form of certainty over their long-term housing options.
In May, the Queen’s Speech set out the government’s intention to pursue a repeal of the legislation; the Renters’ Reform Bill will remove Section 21 from the Housing Act 1988.
The new bill will also strengthen the rights of private renters by applying the legally binding Decent Homes Standard to the sector and introduce a new ombudsman for private landlords to help resolve issues without having to go to court.
A new property portal will be introduced under the act, where landlords can access information about their obligations and tenants can get performance information that will help them hold their landlord to account.
The repeal of Section 21 comes alongside plans to reform leasehold rights, which come into force this month.
Although no specific legislation is proposed for this parliament, the government stated in the Queen’s Speech that it would aim to make it easier for leaseholders to extend their leases or buy freeholds, as well as give options to enfranchise residents and allow them to take control of the management of their building in the future.
