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The government has turned down a call to help landlords quickly regain rented private homes when no-fault evictions are abolished under the Renters' Rights Act.
Thousands of supporters have signed the petition to Parliament urging a six-week fast-track legal process for repossessing a property when the new rules replace Section 21.
The new act introduces mandatory grounds for eviction that some experts fear could take up to a year to navigate the courts.
The petition also asked the government to offer landlords more protection from rogue tenants by setting up a register of renters evicted under court orders, and to increase deposits to cover substantial property damage.
The petition clocked up 10,000 signatures last month, triggering an official written statement from the government, and has since added more than 5,100 additional supporters. If the petition garners 100,000 signatures by July 26, the topics will be considered for debate by MPs in Parliament.
The petition was launched in January by landlord Craig Littlejohn, who argues that the measures would provide additional protection under the Renters' Rights Act for private landlords.
However, a terse response from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government clearly states the government does not support the proposals.
"The Government has no plans to introduce an expedited court possession process for mandatory possession grounds, a tenant vetting database, or to raise the cap on tenancy deposits," says the response.
"From 1 May 2026, the Renters' Rights Act will ensure landlords can continue to gain possession when necessary, while offering more security to tenants. We value the contribution made by responsible landlords, who provide quality homes to their tenants and understand that landlords must have robust possession grounds where there is a good reason to take their property back."
Find out more about the petition
The Renters' Rights Act comes into force in phases, with Section 21 no-fault evictions abolished from May 1.
A new Section 8 eviction process replaces Section 21 from that date.
The new rules demand that landlords have evidence to evict a renter based on a number of mandatory grounds, such as the tenant is in rent arrears, behaves antisocially or is in breach of a tenancy agreement.
If the evidence supports the claim, the courts may order an eviction.
A court can also order a tenant to leave if the landlord wants to live in or sell the property, but the home cannot be let for around 16 months from the date the notice is served if a sale falls through.
Other phased changes expected this year include introducing a Private Landlord Ombudsman to resolve tenant/landlord disputes without going to court, and a national Private Landlord Database listing buy-to-let and HMO landlords and their properties.