MPs to debate Renters’ Rights Bill including end to ‘cruel’ no fault evictions

Proposed protections for tenants are due to be debated in Parliament as the Housing Secretary pledged her commitment to abolishing “cruel” no fault evictions.

The Renters’ Rights Bill will have its Second Reading in the Commons on Wednesday.

The Government said the speed of its progress through Parliament signals a determination to put protections in law as soon as possible.

The previous government pledged to end section 21 so-called no fault evictions but concern about its impact on landlords and the courts was set to lead to a delay in implementation.

The Conservatives’ Renters (Reform) Bill then ran out of time to progress through Parliament before the election.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, said the Renters’ Rights Bill will “transform the sector” with a focus on ensuring stable accommodation for families.

She said: “I am determined to get this Bill in to law as soon as possible. The thousands of children and families living in unsafe housing or under the cruel threat of a Section 21 eviction notice have been waiting far too long already.

“We will deliver on our promise to renters and transform the sector into one where families can put down roots, where children can grow up in healthy homes, and where young people can save for their future.”

The latest official figures published last week showed that the number of households assessed as needing homelessness help as a result of a section 21 no fault eviction notice rose by almost 8% year-on-year, from 24,260 to 26,150 in the year to March.

During a speech to the Commons, Ms Rayner is expected to set out key parts of the Bill, including how it will put tenants in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases and outline that landlords will only be allowed to raise the rent once a year at the market rate.

New legislation as it stands would also give renters a one-year period of protection at the beginning of a tenancy, during which landlords cannot evict to move in or sell the property, and would double notice periods for various grounds for possession from two months to four months.

The Government said the Bill will also bring disputes to quicker resolution through a new ombudsman service, cutting back on the need to go though the courts.

It is also expected to give local councils stronger powers to crack down on unscrupulous landlords and give tenants the right to request keeping a pet, with landlords unable to unreasonably refuse.

But campaigners representing renters and others acting as the voice for landlords have both raised concerns about various aspects of proposed new legislation.

The Renters’ Reform Coalition has broadly welcomed much of the Bill’s content, describing it as a “significant improvement” on the previous government’s attempt, but it said proposals must go further to meet an ambition of levelling the playing field between landlords and tenants.

They have called for longer protection for tenants from eviction for the first two years of a tenancy.

The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said it is concerned about tenants being able to build up more rent debts, known as arrears, before they can be given notice to leave a property and a doubling of the notice period in such cases from two weeks to four.

Ben Beadle, NRLA chief executive, said: “Landlords should rightly expect that they can swiftly regain possession of the properties they rent when tenants reach two months of arrears as at present.

“In no other walk of life would the Government allow consumer debts to build for months on end with all the damage that can cause to their credit ratings.”