A new poll by LRG has found that 61% of tenants feel either less secure, not sure or indifferent since Section 21 ended.

Before the reform, tenants were fairly evenly divided on whether their landlord might ask them to leave without giving a reason. Just over half (53%) were very or quite concerned, while 46% were not very or not at all concerned. Since Section 21 was abolished, almost four in ten (39%) feel more secure. LRG says this suggests that, so far, the reform has made a noticeable difference for some tenants but has not changed how secure most renters feel in their current home.

The estate agency group quizzed 405 LRG landlords and 166 LRG tenants along with 107 landlords who answered the same questions through LandlordZONE. It adds that three in four of these LandlordZONE readers manage their own lettings.

More than three-quarters (77%) of LandlordZONE-reading landlords believe abolishing Section 21 wasn’t necessary, according to the poll.

Security

More than half of LRG landlords (55%) don’t think Section 21 was necessary to give tenants greater security, while a third think it was, either definitely or to some extent. Tenants see it the other way round, with 68% saying it was necessary.

For most LRG landlords, Section 21 was not a regular part of managing a tenancy; 65% never used it, while around three in ten did (32%) – and most of them only once. However, LandlordZONE landlords were more likely to have used Section 21, with 59% having done so, including 32% more than once.

Among LandlordZONE landlords, rent arrears or repeated late payment (29%) and antisocial behaviour or another tenancy issue (20%) were the main reasons.

Safety

Landlord Action’s Paul Shamplina says Section 21 was a “safety blanket” for many self-managed landlords. He appreciates that landlords can feel intimidated and worried about going to court, particularly as they need stronger grounds to use a Section 8.

If you’re a good landlord and you have a good tenant you have nothing to fear, he tells LandlordZONE, but adds: “You need a court system that works – at the moment it doesn’t – landlords need access to high court enforcement officers – that’s pot luck – and there are still issues with anti-social behaviour.”

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