A recent Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee heard evidence from Ben Beadle, NRLA and Shelter’s policy manager Tarun Bhakta, as well as the Property Ombudsman Richard Blakeway.

It can be seen in full here.

Shelter made several dreadful proposals:

• the current proposal for using a Section 8 to evict because the property is to be sold, or the landlord is to move in, is to have a period of 3 months before it can be re-let if the landlord changes their mind.
  Shelter are proposing this should be 12 months – a matter seized on by the committee who asked if Shelter were advocating keeping a property empty for 12 months, during this housing crisis.   Shelter had no reply.
• They also seemed to be suggesting that no-one should ever be evicted, even for Anti-Social Behaviour.
  Again the committee picked up on this, expressing surprise that Shelter appeared to be condoning ASB.  Shelter tried to discriminate between levels of ASB, but the committee were clearly not impressed.
• When it was pointed out that use of Section 8 in the future, rather than Section 21, would bring transparency to the true reason for eviction and that the resultant CCJ will make it very difficult for rent defaulters and anti social tenants to find a private landlord willing to let to them in future.
  Shelter appeared not to have thought about the consequences of that.

The Housing Minister, Rachel Maclean, appeared in the second part of the proceedings giving very wooly answers to questions, and appeared to have a minimal grasp on this Bill.