Housing minister Heather Wheeler has pledged that the government will make changes to the court repossession process alongside its plans to scrap the Section 21 evictions process.

Writing for the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), Wheeler concedes that landlords who try to repossess properties via the courts often find the process ‘unduly slow and complex’.

She then pledges that there will be ‘changes in the law’ and ‘the court process’, writing that ‘resourcing will need to go hand in glove with tenancy reform’ to meet the needs of landlords as well as renters.

Wheeler, who is MP for South Derbyshire and has the official title of Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, writes that the ‘vast majority of landlords provide tenants with a decent home and good quality service’, adding that ‘few landlords evict good tenants without sound reason’.

She also confirms that the government is aiming to ensure that the changes to the evictions process following the proposed removal of so-called Section 21 no fault repossessions work for both tenants and landlords. 

Wheeler says she will be working with the RLA – which is already consulting its members on what they need to repossess property swiftly for legitimate reasons – to make sure the Section 21 changes are effective for everyone. 

“The minister’s comments are welcome,” says David Smith, RLA policy director. “As the RLA has long argued, landlords are left frustrated at almost every stage where they want to repossess property through the courts.”

“This makes it harder to address the problem of bad tenants including those committing anti-social behaviour who cause misery for their neighbours.”

Earlier this week, the RLA called on the government to fix the court system before Section 21 repossessions are scrapped. It quoted fresh figures from the Ministry of Justice which show that landlords are waiting longer to repossess properties for legitimate reasons.