‘No-fault’ eviction of tenants must end. But beware unintended consequences | Simon Jenkins

The government is right to curtail landlords’ section 21 powers. But too much regulation could end up hurting the poorest

Theresa May’s government can get some things right. The curtailment of landlords’ power to evict tenants for no reason with only eight weeks’ notice has been rejected by Labour and Tory ministers for decades. Now the proposed abolition of “section 21” evictions should free landlords from being seen as heartless exploiters, and tenants as worthless transients, endlessly complaining.

Europe’s maddest housing market should be brought closer to its sanest, Germany, where 55% of people enjoy secure and mostly happy private tenancies, for an average of 11 years each. In Britain just 20% are private tenants, with tenancies of an average 30 months. Germany suffers no get-on-the-ladder hysteria. Private savings are not frozen in bricks and mortar, but put to economic use.

Continue reading...

from Property | The Guardian http://bit.ly/2ZgxwpN
via IFTTT