Renters have urged the government to act quickly to ban “no fault” evictions when a landmark bill returns to parliament.
The Renters Reform Bill aims to strengthen protections for tenants in an increasingly volatile market, including by banning so-called Section 21 notices, the legal mechanism that allows landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason.
While successive Tory prime ministers promised to outlaw the practice, no fault evictions are still being used after the bill lapsed following Rishi Sunak’s decision to call an election.
The bill, renamed the Reenters’ Rights Bill, is now expected to return to the Commons, possibly as early as next week – and campaigners are urging Labour to stick by the promises they made while in opposition.
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‘I complained and was issued with a Section 21’
James, 38, has lived in his house in north London for more than five years but was served with a Section 21 notice last month – and in the same week that he raised issues in his house.
Mould had started to grow in his bathroom and cockroaches had begun to appear in his kitchen. One of the walls in his house also has an issue with damp.
James raised the mould issue with his landlord but did not hear from him for three weeks. He decided to notify a council officer involved from his local authority, after which repair works were carried out.
But on 16 August, James and his five other housemates were served an eviction notice and told they had to move out by the end of October.
“It’s very stressful having to move out because the rental market is obviously much, much worse than when I last moved house in terms of cost and competition,” he told Sky News.
“The council has said to the landlord that it looks like a retaliatory eviction but he’s apparently replied to them saying it’s just a coincidence.”
Renting crisis ‘out of control’
Tom Darling, director at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, told Sky News that the renting crisis in England was “out of control”.
“Homelessness linked to no fault evictions has only continued to rise since the election. The government must act soon – and we’re pleased it sounds like their proposed Renters’ Rights Bill isn’t too far away.”
Mr Darling said the group was pleased that Labour had already agreed to certain reforms, including extending Awaab’s law – legislation that would make landlords liable for property defects – to the private rented sector.
But he argued wider reforms were “essential to ensure renters have genuine security in their homes” – including longer eviction notice periods, longer protected periods free from eviction when a tenancy starts and limits on how much rent can be increased during a tenancy.
The group also hopes that the government does not follow through on Tory amendments to the previous bill which effectively delayed the ban on Section 21 notices indefinitely pending a review of the courts system, which some Tory backbenchers feared would become overwhelmed with more complex eviction cases.
The demands for greater rental security come as tenants continue to incur rent rises well above average wage increases, with Londoners facing cumulative hikes of over 31% since 2021 and similar rises in other parts of England and Wales.
A recent report also laid bare the scale of the poor conditions that exist in the private rental market, with Citizens Advice warning that almost half of private renters in England are living in homes that are cold, damp or mould.
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In its manifesto, Labour also vowed to end “bidding wars” to stop renters being pitted against each other “in a fight to see who can offer up a bigger sum” for a rented property – something the RRC also said it would support.
Last year tenants typically paid an extra £100 a month above the asking price for their home, according to research by the New Economics Foundation thinktank.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “The Renters’ Rights Bill will be introduced in due course and we have committed to engaging with the sector throughout the process.
“We will take action by abolishing Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions immediately, end rental bidding wars to stop the predatory practice of pitting renters against each other and empower renters to challenge poor conditions.”
