No-Fault Exchanges Leave Britons Sensible Feeling Vulnerable as Ban Looms
Thousands of English tenants deal with the stress of no-fault evictions, a policy allowing landlords to break leases without cause. Recently receiving an unexpected two-month eviction notice, 55-year-old Lewes artist Jackie Bennett is left trying to cancel holiday arrangements and employment obligations. She said, surrounded by tapestries concealing the wetness on her walls, "You always feel vulnerable." Originally implemented in 1988 to control the rental market, these evictions are scheduled to be eliminated under the planned Renters' Rights Bill, which mandates landlords give a justification for evictions and increase notice times.
Supported by the Labour-majority Parliament, the forthcoming legislation seeks to shield renters from "revenge evictions," in which case landlords respond to complaints by means of reprisal. Tenant rights organizations caution, however, that before the restriction takes effect, landlords are aggressively sending no-fault eviction notifications. The Ministry of Justice reports that 8,425 English families between July and September had court actions over such notices—the highest in eight years. Another issue is rent rises; last year, rents jumped over 9%. "Landlords might evict 'through the back door' by raising rents to unaffordable levels," warned Generation Rent CEO Ben Twomey.
For renters like Alexandra Casson, a Dalston neighborhood television producer in London, the fight is personal. She rejected her landlord's effort to increase her rent by more than fifty percent, therefore triggering a no-fault eviction. She remarked, "It's a clear attempt to extort renters." Although the new measure extends eviction notice periods from two to four months, providing some relief, problems still exist. Casson admits her relative privilege as she gets ready to buy a house. Campaigners meanwhile ask legislators to take rent controls into account alongside the eviction prohibition in order to stop more vulnerable renters being displaced.
