Swifter justice for victims of 'neighbours from hell'

Grant Schapps MP

NEIGHBOURS FROM HELL will be evicted much more quickly than at present if new proposals from the Government's Housing Minister Grant Schapps are accepted.

Grant Schapps MP is proposing to introduce a new mandatory power for possession, which will speed up the possession process by allowing previous convictions for serious anti-social behaviour to trigger eviction proceedings and short-cut the often long and expensive process which often requires landlords to prove again the 'yobbish' actions of their nightmare tenants.

"I am clear the eviction should only be pulled out of that toolkit as a last resort. But where other remedies have been tried and failed and serious antisocial behaviour has already been proven, I am determined that seeking and obtaining possession of the property should not be the start of another long process." Grant Schapps, Housing Minister

Under current regulations, it takes on average seven months from applying for a possession order to being granted one. And with some defendants deciding to not turn up or cases being adjourned several times, it can sometimes take much longer.

The Government is consulting on these proposals. You can find the consultation document at: www.communities.gov.uk/publications/housing/antisocialbehaviourconsult