Page 74 - Solving Housing Disputes

advice. A simple way to improve the situation would be to change court forms
to ask questions or offer tick boxes about Equality Act or human rights concerns,
such as whether a respondent has children, suffers from a disability or has mental
health issues. Having those matters flagged on court forms will alert a judge,
invite them to inquire as to the person’s circumstances and should see them
signpost that person to any form of available legal advice. Changes to forms
should be developed through best practice with the disability advocacy sector, to
ensure the questions asked are appropriate and presented in such a way as to
ensure a person engages with the question. We recommend the Civil
Procedure Rule Committee amend defence forms for all possession claims
to include specific questions or tick boxes for a defendant to complete that
flags information about disability or other matters which might give rise to
Equality Act 2010 or ECHR concerns or defences.

3.33 The recent Queen’s Speech evinces an intention, through the Rented Homes Bill,
to abolish “no fault” evictions as part of the legislative agenda for 2020. The
abolition of section 21 of the Housing Act 1988 is to be delivered by removing
the assured shorthold tenancy regime, with compensatory grounds introduced
196
into section 8 of the Housing Act 1988. At the same time, the Government is
exploring how to establish “longer, more secure tenancies”. 197 The consultation
which predated the Bill explained that changes to possession grounds will be met
with parallel developments to improve court guidance “so landlords and tenants

where human rights, public law or equality law matters are or may be raised, the necessary information
is before the Court at the first hearing", https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-
rules/civil/protocol/pre-action-protocol-for-possession-claims-by-social-landlords

196 ‘The Queen’s Speech 2019’, (Prime Minister’s Office, 19 December 2019)
available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_da
ta/file/853886/Queen_s_Speech_December_2019_-_background_briefing_notes.pdf#page=46.com The
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government issued a consultation in 2019, which set out
a desire for a “fair and balanced relationship between landlord and tenant”. The key feature of the
consultation was the proposal to abolish section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which allows landlords to
evict tenants without providing a reason or avenue for challenge, MHCLG, ‘A new deal for renting:
resetting the balance of rights and responsibilities between landlords and tenants’, July 2019 available a
t https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/819
270/A_New_Deal_for_Renting_Resetting_the_Balance_of_Rights_and_Responsibilities_between_Lan
dlords_and_Tenants.pdf

197 MHCLG, ‘Overcoming the Barriers to Longer Tenancies in the Private Rented Sector: Government
Response’, (April 2019) available at https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/syste
m/uploads/attachment_data/file/795448/Overcoming_the_Barriers_to_Longer_Tenancies_in_the_Priva
te_Rented_Sector_-_government_response.pdf

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