New Clause 9
Welfare Reform Bill
12:00 pm
Anne McGuire (Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Disabled People), Department for Work and Pensions; Stirling, Labour)
I am sympathetic to the points that have been raised by both the hon. Gentleman and the hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, who tabled the new clause. In practice, very few landlords use the ground 8 provision to secure possession. It is fair to say that they, too, are generally sensitive to the financial difficulties that their tenants may face, particularly in relation to delays, which should not happen but sometimes do. Most landlords use the no-fault powers in section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, which allow the landlord to obtain possession of a property without going to court, by giving two months’ notice at the end of a fixed term of tenancy, or after six months of a periodic tenancy.