The UK government has published its Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan, which includes measures to give landlords more powers to evict tenants who engage in disruptive behaviour. The plan, which is expected to be included in the Renters Reform Act, will make it easier for landlords to prove grounds for possession and reduce the notice period for eviction from two months to two weeks.
The new measures aim to ensure that anti-social tenants face the consequences of their actions. The government will work to change laws and arm landlords with the tools they need to deal with anti-social behaviour. The plan includes a range of provisions designed to make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who engage in disruptive behaviour.
One of the key provisions is the inclusion of clauses in private tenancy agreements specifically banning anti-social behaviour. This will make it easier for landlords to use the breach of tenancy ground to evict anti-social tenants. The notice period for all anti-social behaviour eviction grounds will be reduced to two weeks as part of the reforms for renters.
The discretionary eviction ground will also be expanded to make anti-social behaviour easier to prove in court. This will clarify that any behaviour ‘capable’ of causing ‘nuisance or annoyance’ can lead to eviction. The government will work with the courts system to explore how to prioritise anti-social behaviour cases in Possession Lists to speed up the process of evicting an anti-social tenant.
The government also plans to ensure that landlords are aware of existing tools, such as injunctions and Criminal Behaviour Orders, to crack down on anti-social tenants. Legislation will be brought forward to set out the principles that judges must consider when making their decision, such as giving weight to the impact on landlords, neighbours, and housemates and whether the tenant has failed to engage with other interventions to manage their behaviour.
Evictions expert Paul Shamplina welcomed the plan, saying, “At Landlord Action we’ve been pushing the Government to give landlords an alternative to Section 21 notices once this type of eviction is abolished by the Renters’ Reform Act, most likely next year. It’s good news that Ministers have been listening to us and other voices within the landlord community. Landlords need to be able to quickly evict tenants who behave badly within their properties.”
The government hopes that these measures will help to crack down on anti-social behaviour and make it easier for landlords to deal with unruly tenants. The Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan is part of the government’s wider plan to reform the rental sector and improve the rights of renters.
