The future of the UK rental market is emerging. The government
wants views on its plans for removing the assured shorthold tenancy
(AST) regime and bolstering the court process for gaining
possession of a property. Will it be enough to fill the vacuum left
by the AST regime?
Background
In April, we blogged about the
government’s plans to abolish section 21 of the Housing Act
1988 which, the government said, left tenants vulnerable to
indiscriminate and arbitrary eviction. Under section 21, landlords
can terminate a tenancy on two months’ notice following the
initial fixed term of not less than six months, without an
underlying reason. The government also assured landlords that it
was mindful of their need to legitimately and swiftly end tenancies
to reclaim their property under the section 8 process.
