16 January 2025
Gary Scott widely featured in national and property press on Renter’s Rights Bill
Partner Gary Scott has been widely featured in the national and property press, including The Times and leading property publication, Property Week, discussing the Renters Rights Bill, which is making its way through Parliament.
Leading property disputes lawyer Gary warns that the third reading of the Bill made it clear that the “government has no intention of properly resourcing the courts and tribunal to deal with the inevitable influx of claims and additionally required court time in dealing with disputes over rent increases and possession”.
Without a commitment to improving the speed and efficiency of the possession process, there is a danger that the courts will be overwhelmed, he cautions.
“If the landlord has a mortgage or relies on… rent as a pension or main income this is going to have serious financial consequences, and for many investors this could be the final nail in the coffin, pushing them to leave the market,” Gary said.
He points out that that landlords can be fined up to £40,000 for breaching regulations without a tribunal or court determination.
Noting that county courts in London and busy regional courts are “already struggling to deal with their existing workload, with applications and correspondence taking around 20 weeks to deal with”, he suggests that the government needs to address these issues.
“Possession claims can take more than four or five months to get a possession order. A year or more can have passed without a landlord receiving rent before a non-paying tenant is evicted. Adding to that workload burden without funding modernisation or increasing capacity is inviting significant problems ahead,” warns Gary.
Read Gary’s comments in:
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