Housing Minister Brandon Lewis has announced new powers that will make it easier to evict nightmare neighbours and rogue tenants from social and private rented housing.
Under the new powers, landlords will be able to use a new mandatory ground for possession which will expedite the process by allowing previous convictions to trigger eviction proceedings. This means that continually disruptive tenants will no longer be able to take advantage of new landlords, or hide behind the laborious court eviction process.
Mr Lewis said the new powers will ensure that those who persistently cause misery for their neighbours will no longer benefit from the support of social housing.
He said: “No one deserves to feel intimidated or unsafe in their own community, yet lengthy court proceedings have left nightmare tenants free to cause misery for their neighbours for years.
“New powers mean landlords can take swifter action to evict any tenant convicted of persistent or serious anti-social behaviour, bringing faster relief to victims and witnesses.
“It will mean law-abiding social tenants will be able to live in peace, while anyone found guilty of serious anti-social behaviour cannot benefit from the valuable support that social housing can offer.”
In future, courts will be required to grant a possession order if any of five conditions are met. These include cases in which a tenant or a person visiting the property has been convicted of a serious offence or has breached the civil injunction for anti-social behaviour, which will come into force in January.