James O'Brien dissects Sunak's crackdown on 'antisocial' tenants
28 March 2023, 12:12
Plans to give landlords more powers to evict antisocial tenants is 'a little bit pie in the sky' and impacts the poorest, James O'Brien says, in an analysis of the government's antisocial behaviour crackdown.
The government announced new plans today that will enable landlords to evict 'problematic' tenants with only two weeks notice, including for playing loud music, using drugs, causing damage to property – or falling behind on rent payments.
James said: "Very worryingly, this includes falling behind on your rent. This is not really antisocial behaviour, is it? If you can’t pay your bills as opposed to won’t."
"On the same day that the government announces plans to make it easier to evict tenants who have fallen behind on their rent, Which? the consumer association, publishes research that showing that two and a half million households have fallen behind on their essential bills.
"I don’t know what the lesson of that juxtaposition is but it’s not very pretty is it."
Mr O'Brien acknowledges how 'utterly soul-destroying' nuisance neighbours can be, but suggests there is a distinction between targeting genuinely antisocial behaviour and those who are just poor.
The government's behaviour, he says, "looks a bit like an out of control shower head just spraying stuff.
"It goes everywhere, everything gets wet and yet nobody is very happy about it."
These plans also follow the government's announcement yesterday to crackdown on other forms of antisocial behaviour, such as banning nitrous oxide and what it describes as 'nuisance' beggars.