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17/12/25 3:30 pm
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Landlords in Portsmouth have urged the government to include measures to minimise collateral damage to the PRS before drafting any secondary legislation to the Renters’ Rights Act.
Portsmouth & District Private Landlords Association’s proposals aim to address both reducing the need to repossess properties and prevent the loss of available rental properties, according to chairman Martin Silman, who says members have raised the issue as an urgent matter with local MPs.
“Protecting tenants from unfair eviction is a noble goal,” adds Silman, “but the way government is sequencing reforms is illogical - and damaging. They have put the cart before the horse, abolishing Section 21 before fixing the courts, before embedding conciliation and mediation, before ensuring arbitration is linked to resolution.
“Tenants rarely know that mediation or conciliation exist, let alone the subtle but important differences. Government must fund awareness campaigns so both landlords and tenants see it as a first step, not a hidden option.”
The group suggests introducing landlord-initiated mediation, particularly in cases of persistent anti-social behaviour, and for the courts to prioritise anti-social behaviour cases with strict timelines.
Silman points to a recent case in Portsmouth where neighbours refused to testify against a tenant accused of drug use – and the case collapsed for lack of evidence. He believes a statutory declaration system would have allowed those concerns to be formally recorded without requiring neighbours to appear in court.
“Until court reform is complete, landlords need interim remedies,” says Silman. “A streamlined possession process for clear ASB cases would prevent months of disruption. This could include a requirement upon the tenant to sign an acceptable behaviour contract and perhaps attend some form of education or neighbour mediation and crucially mend their ways.”
He adds that commercial landlords already use Interim Possession Orders to remove trespassers quickly. Extending a similar mechanism to residential landlords dealing with proven ASB would provide a vital stopgap until wider court reforms are implemented.
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