Getting back to the OP I have seen this today …
https://news.sky.com/story/what-is-...l-and-will-it-end-no-fault-evictions-13212947
… which says …
View attachment 187877
I’m not in the UK at the moment and am finding it difficult to track down what is meant by circumstances changing.
Has anyone seen anything definitive on what is being proposed?
Nothing set in statute yet. There is a lot of panic being promoted which I'm hoping is just the usual over reaction. My personal opinion would be if I offer a six month contract and the tenant is keeping to their side of it they should be entitled to six months notice if I'm planning to sell up. So at renewal they would be informed we will not be renewing again next time. I've never done that and hope never to have to.
Evicting someone who is trashing the place and intimidating the neighbors is very different.
If we get decent law and I stick to my definition (good law protects decent people from scum bags) This should never be necessary and be no problem to the tenant I would sell the house while they remained living in it. I'd get a fair price as a tenant with a proven record of keeping to their side of the contract reduces the risk of getting a bad tenant. They would move from one properly regulated landlord to another, it should all be seamless.
None of this addresses the real issues.
1. We don't have enough good housing stock to meet demands.
2. Tenants are left vulnerable to bad landlords
3. Landlords cannot get bad tenants evicted quickly.
To solve 1. we need to control our population and / or build a lot of housing WITH all the required infrastructure. How you think that should be done depends on your politics, not going there this time
2. license landlords. That's not rip us off as politically easy targets. That's if you want to rent property pass a theory test similar to the driving test (or work with a licensed agent) get a license. If a tenant can show that with reasonable opportunity I haven't made necessary repairs I get points on my license. If I don't make the repairs within a specified time the council do, they do a quality job and make a % of value charge against the property, if I don't pay this goes up with the house price and is recovered when I sell. If I make the repairs I can have the point removed for a nominal charge. Prospective tenants can then vet landlords in the same way we vet tenants a clean license history becomes an asset so it pays to be a good landlord ie. keep your side of the contract.
3. If I was able to quickly evict a bad tenant the council would have a duty to rehouse them and they don't have the houses. Which is why this is unlikely to ever be solved, hence landlords "cherry picking tenants". How you solve the problem of scum bags I really don't know. Social housing isn't the answer, decent people have to live next to them. Ghettoizing only worsens the problem. Being a socialist not a national socialist I don't have the answer. There need to be consequences for bad behavior but how does a reasonable person support consequences that make life unpleasant for someone choosing to live with dog excrement in their kitchen? Shall I start a thread on licensing people to keep pets.......