Subject: Protect renters this Winter: Stop revenge evictions!

Date of meeting: 15 December 2022

Proposer: Councillor Williams

Seconder: Councillor Allcock

Ward(s) affected: All

Notice of Motion

Labour Group

1. This Winter’s cost-of-living emergency and dangers to tenants in properties with health hazards i.e. damp, mould, excess cold;

2. The tragic death of two-year-old Awaab Ishak from prolonged exposure to mould;

3. Mould, damp and serious disrepair in the social and private housing sectors needs addressing;

4. Action the council can take to prevent revenge evictions, raise standards and deter landlords from breaking the law;

5. The council has legal powers[1] to intervene in cases of revenge evictions with ‘improvement notices’[2] to invalidate s21 notices;

6. The 2019 High Court ruling in favour of Hull City Council[3];

Council therefore resolves to request officers to bring a report to Housing Committee:

a) Reviewing the council’s private sector housing enforcement policy to reduce tenants’ risk of ‘revenge evictions’ by serving ‘improvement notices’ and ‘emergency remedial action notices’ at the soonest opportunity.

b) outlining plans to display on the council website steps private renters can take regarding repairs requests and revenge eviction notices

Supporting Information:

· The tragic death of Awaab Isaak in his property in Rochdale – a coroner has said this should be a ‘defining moment’ for the UK’s housing sector

· “No-fault” evictions have surged to higher than pre-pandemic levels in recent months, with alarming government figures showing close to 20,000 households were made homeless in England in 2021/22, up from almost 9,000 in the previous financial year;

· The Government has still not delivered on its promise to ban section 21 “no fault” evictions

· Retaliatory or revenge eviction is where a tenant makes a legitimate complaint to their landlord about the condition of their property and, in response, instead of making the repair, the landlord serves them with a section 21 asking them to leave

If a tenant has an assured shorthold tenancy or a renewal agreement which started on or after 1 October 2015 and is given a section 21 notice it will be invalid where all these apply:

before the section 21 notice was issued, the tenant made a complaint in writing either by email or letter to the landlord regarding the condition of the property. A tenant will be considered to have made a complaint if they did not know the landlord's postal or email address, or had made reasonable efforts to contact the landlord to complain but could not

the landlord:
- did not provide a response within 14 days of the complaint being made
- did not describe the action they would take to fix the problem or give a reasonable timescale within which action would be taken, or
- served a section 21 notice following the complaint being made by the tenant
the tenant then complained to the council about the same or a very similar issue
the council sent the landlord a housing improvement notice or emergency remedial action notice because the property was found, following a visit in response to the complaint, to have a serious health or safety hazard
and if the section 21 notice was not given before the tenant's complaint to the council, it was given before the service of the relevant notice.

If the council serve a landlord with a relevant housing notice, a valid section 21 notice cannot be issued within six months of the council's notice. A section 21 will be valid if it is served after 6 months have passed.

There are restrictions on the service of a valid section 21 notice to end an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) when a landlord served the notice following a written complaint from the tenant about the condition of the property and the local authority has served a 'relevant notice'. A relevant notice is an improvement notice in relation to a category 1 or 2 hazard, or an emergency remedial action notice.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/retaliatory-eviction-and-the-deregulation-act-2015-guidance-note/guidance-note-retaliatory-eviction-and-the-deregulation-act-2015

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/during-your-tenancy/if-you-get-a-section-21-notice/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-privately/ending-your-tenancy/if-youre-being-evicted-because-you-asked-for-repairs-renting-privately/

https://www.eastriding.gov.uk/housing/private-housing-residents/advice-for-tenants/harassment-eviction/

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/sep/22/surge-in-no-fault-evictions-prompts-calls-to-renew-uk-wide-ban

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/nov/15/death-of-two-year-old-awaab-ishak-chronic-mould-in-flat-a-defining-moment-says-coroner

https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/local_authority_duties_to_deal_with_poor_conditions/local_authority_hhsrs_enforcement_action

Humber Landlords Association v Hull City Council (2019) EWHC 332 (Admin)

[1] Retaliatory Eviction & Deregulation Act 2015, Housing Act 2004

[3] Verdict held that a local authority was entitled to amend their private sector housing enforcement policy and take a tougher line against retaliatory eviction by making formal action under the Housing Act 2004 the default position where either a category 1 or 2 hazard existed