Liberal Democrat peers have called for the government to review the impact of ending Section 21 evictions on the justice system.
It currently takes an average of more than seven months for the courts to process and enforce an ‘at fault’ possession case, including those relayed to anti-social behaviour and serious rent arrears.
Liberal Democrats’ Housing Spokesperson Baroness Thornhill has tabled the motion, which was backed by the National Residential Landlords Association.
The Renters Rights’ Bill is currently in the Committee Stage in the House of Lords.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Ministers must back these constructive, sensible proposals to ensure the Renters’ Rights Bill works in practice.
“Without changes the justice system will not cope, students will struggle to plan where they will live and responsible landlords will avoid the risk of taking tenants with a poor, or no, credit history in the UK.”
There is also cross-party proposal to protect the annual cycle of all student housing.
With fixed term tenancies ending, landlords will have no certainty that properties will be available to rent to new students at the start of each academic year.
Whilst the government has proposed a possession ground to address the issue, it excludes one-and two-bedroom properties which make up a third of student accommodation.
This amendment would extend the possession ground to all student housing.
Thirdly, there are proposals from a former Number 10 legal adviser to reverse the increase in the amount of rent arrears a tenant can build.
The Bill increases by half the amount of rent arrears a tenant can build before a landlord can use the mandatory ground for possession for arrears.
Allowing arrears to build further will make it harder for tenants to tackle problem debts, while it will make landlords less likely to rent to those who struggle to prove they can sustain a tenancy.
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