Member

Amendment 26 would require a landlord to submit verified evidence of the progress towards the occupation or sale of a property obtained under these grounds no less than 16 weeks after the date of the order, and to verify this by a statement of truth. That statement of truth would need to be provided to court, the tenant and the local housing authority. This should have several positive effects. Disincentivising abuse is clearly the most important. There needs to be a clear and high evidentiary threshold for using both grounds to prevent abuse—I am aware that I am beginning to sound like a broken record. The landlord, knowing that they have to provide that statement of truth post eviction notice, will be less likely to fraudulently evict a tenant in the first place; and, if a landlord lies to the court, they will be open to litigation and may be liable to pay damages to the tenant under Section 12 of the Housing Act 1988. The good, honest landlord will be able to do this relatively easily, and it will assist enforcement. The landlord’s statement of truth being served on the tenant and the housing authority will significantly improve the ability of both the tenant and the local housing authority to pursue justice where a landlord has clearly abused the grounds.