Expert comment: Protection from Eviction Act 1977 needs urgent reform

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Professor Helen Carr and Dr Ed Kirton-Darling, experts in housing law at Kent Law School, comment on the need for an inclusive and accessible reform of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 following the tenant eviction ban ending on 31 May, and reports of an evictions crisis. They said:

‘Recent reports suggest how the housing crisis enables landlords to work below the radar of the law to evict occupiers. Yet, there is another feature of the eviction crisis which we would like to highlight, the sham use of licences for occupiers who are entitled to a tenancy. This has been particularly important during the pandemic, when the government extended statutory protections from evictions to tenants but excluded licencees.

‘For us this suggests an urgent need not only to abolish the no fault ground for eviction under s.21 of the Housing Act 1988 but also to reform and update the Protection from Eviction Act 1977. The Act is one of a suite of statutory provisions including homelessness law and the prevention of the use of violence when securing entry to a property which provide an essential floor of rights for some of the most vulnerable in society – those who are insecurely or inadequately housed. Its precursor, the Protection from Eviction Act 1964, was enacted in response to outrageous landlord behaviour in the private rented sector encapsulated in the term ‘Rachmanism’, subsequently extended and consolidated into the 1977 Act. The longevity of the statute gives it a quasi-constitutional significance. It reflects a long-standing agreement between the state and its citizens about when the law will intervene to protect individuals from the loss of their homes by arbitrary exercises of power.

‘But the Act is showing its age. It is complex and sprawling and is difficult for housing lawyers, never mind occupiers to understand. Under-resourced local authorities face serious challenges when prosecuting under the Act, and the police are very reluctant to get involved. Its reform is now urgent. Private renting continues to expand and its unaffordability means that more and more people will be living in house shares – where the biggest problems lie. There is likely to be a surge in illegal evictions if and when tenants are given greater security and we should be ready for that.

What we need is a new version of the 1977 Act, which recaptures its inclusivity and appeal to justice but is accessible and well understood. The principal beneficiaries would be those working in the gig economy, the young and the mobile, many of whom feel permanently excluded from the protections of owner occupation and who have suffered particularly severe economic consequences because of the pandemic. But clear law would be beneficial for many other stakeholders including landlords, local authorities and housing advisors. Taking action to reform the Act now would provide real evidence that ‘levelling up’ applies to private renters as much as the rest of the population.’