The Government is promising to speed up the court eviction process for landlords under the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will see the abolition of Section 21 'no-fault' evictions.
Housing Minister Rachel Maclean said that the Government is committed to reforming the court system under the proposals and for landlords to have a 'guarantee' of fairer and quicker evictions when they have a valid reason.
She also said that it was 'very important' for landlords to have confidence in the private rental sector and for tenants to have stability and security in their homes.
Ms Maclean made the remarks at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, that was co-hosted by the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA).
'Want everyone to have a safe and secure home'
Ms Maclean said: "We have to do these things. We want everyone to have a safe and secure home and that's vital for young people, for everyone and for us as a party.
"Of the millions of landlords in the UK, the vast majority are good operators who look after their tenants and provide a service to society, and what we don't want to do is undermine their confidence in the market."
The minister added that while the Government implement these 'necessary and right' reforms, landlords are not put off from investing in the PRS.
She said: "As a Conservative, I want to make it clear that I support the private ownership of property and people's right to rent those homes out, assuming they are playing by the rules.
"Landlords need to be able to evict bad tenants and we've taken time recently to ensure our proposals in the Bill will work in practice – I understand that some landlords are worried that they won't be able to get their properties back."
Current court system was too slow and inefficient
The NRLA welcomed the minister's assurances but warned that the court system currently is too inefficient and slow in dealing with landlord repossessions – particularly for tenants with ‘extreme’ rent arrears or causing anti-social behaviour issues.
The landlord organisation says it will take a landlord more than six for an eviction using the courts to be completed which, the NRLA says, is costly for tenants and landlords and 'too long'.
The NRLA also said that any replacement of the eviction process system will fail if the courts are not reformed so they can swiftly process possession claims for a landlord with good cause.
'Exodus of landlords from the market'
The NRLA's chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: "Without the confidence of knowing that where they have good cause they can regain their property swiftly, the exodus of landlords from the market will continue.
"All this will do is make it even harder for renters to find a place to live."
He added: "The Minister's comments are welcome, but they need to be backed up by clear plans setting out actions that will be taken and a timeframe for implementation.
"That must include investment in new staff and greater use of technology to process cases more swiftly."
The proposed law has been delayed but could get a second reading before Christmas in Parliament.
Ms Maclean says she is working closely with both the NRLA and landlords with portfolios of all sizes to get it through Parliament.
'Minister is certainly saying the right words'
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said: "The minister is certainly saying the right words, but many landlords will be unconvinced.
"We need to see concrete proposals about how the court system will be improved - eviction cases are taking too long currently - and the reasons for eviction that landlords can use."
He added: "Until we do, the PRS will be in a state of flux and unless the worries and issues are addressed, then there's a bigger problem to deal with.,
"Because if the government can't convince landlords that they will be able to get their property back, many more will be heading for the exit."
