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<p>The vast majority of tenancies end without problem and it is only in a minority
of cases that landlords seek repossession of their property through the courts. The
English Housing Survey 2016-17 found that just 10 per cent of tenants moved because
they were asked to leave or were given notice by their landlord and not all these
cases involved in court proceedings.</p><p>Only a small percentage of moves in the
private rented sector end in the courts. In England and Wales, there were 20,590 private
landlord possession cases in 2016-2017, compared to the total of 1.1 million moves
into and within the Private Rented Sector.</p><p>Landlords need to know they have
the flexibility to get their property back quickly when their circumstances change.
Without those assurances, landlords would be less willing to enter and stay in the
market, which does not help tenants.</p><p>The government is committed to protecting
the rights of tenants and giving them more security. We recently consulted on ways
to overcome the barriers to landlords offering longer, more secure tenancies in the
private rented sector. This included seeking views on the grounds under which a landlord
should be able to recover their property.</p><p>Some landlords have expressed concerns
about their ability to repossess their property through the courts. To better understand
this we launched a call for evidence, on 13 November, to better understand the experience
of courts and tribunal service users, including members of the judiciary, landlords
and tenants, in property cases. This call for evidence will close on 22 January.</p><p>We
want to consider carefully the responses to both the consultation on overcoming the
barriers to longer tenancies, and the call for evidence on user experience of the
courts, before making any policy decisions. We will provide more information on next
steps in due course.</p>
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