The “Rebalancing the Law” campaign has moved one step closer to realising its aim of having the current legal system for tenant eviction changed. On Monday 15th November a petition, signed by almost 5,000 landlords, was delivered to Downing Street by Paul Shamplina, founder of Landlord Action, the company spearheading the campaign alongside Mike Weatherley MP ( Hove and Portslade) and Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association.

In the past two months the whole of the private rented sector, including key organisations and landlords, have shown overwhelming support for the campaign which has been a collaborative effort between Landlord Action, the Residential Landlords Association and the Southern Landlords Association. Their objectives are fourfold:

First, they are looking to raise awareness of the problems and highlight the difficulties experienced by landlords when faced with problem tenants.

Second, they are seeking changes to the law in order to speed up the eviction process, particularly important when there is a clear case of either non payment of rent or anti social behaviour from the existing tenant.

Third, they are seeking changes to the law to improve a landlord’s rights of access to their own property in the case of non payment of rent or anti social behaviour.

Finally, they are seeking a commitment from the government that the proposed closures of 54 UK County courts will not adversely affect landlords.

Alan Ward, Chairman of the Residential Landlords Association, said, “Landlords depend on the County courts to dispense justice when tenants fail to pay the rent. If these County courts are closed, we call on the Secretary of State for Justice to ensure that landlords and tenants are not disadvantaged by delays in the court system.”

Explaining why the support was so vital in getting the voices of landlords heard, Paul Shamplina from Landlord Action said: “An unprecedented number of landlords and industry professionals have signed the petitions, with a number also including comments about their own experiences with regard to the slow court process. This is a clear indication that they are unhappy and are wholeheartedly backing the mission to highlight the difficulties experienced by responsible landlords.

“Whilst we are not naive to assume this campaign will change the legal system overnight, we hope it will influence the right people in the right departments to enter into dialogue. The private rented sector is growing and the Government need landlords to plug the shortfall in housing stock. Therefore, it’s vital that there is a legal framework that properly supports them and encourages investment within this sector.”

Mike Weatherley concluded, “I wholeheartedly support this entirely sensible plan to balance the rights of landlords and tenants. It is all too easy to forget that landlords can be mistreated, just as tenants can be. This extremely pro-active campaign goes a long way to addressing the key issues.”