Yet another U-turn as ministers extend the ban on evictions

MINISTERS made yet another U-turn last night as they extended the ban on evictions introduced at the beginning of lockdown.

Public health bodies and housing charities had warned of a surge in homelessness if the ban was lifted as planned on Sunday. But last night the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said it was looking to continue to help renters and landlords, and would announce details soon.

A spokesman said: ‘The Government has taken unprecedented action to support renters, preventing people getting into financial hardship and helping businesses to pay salaries – meaning no tenants have been evicted at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. We are working on how best to continue supporting renters and landlords during the pandemic.’

It came hours after the Government’s top adviser on homelessness, Dame Louise Casey, quit unexpectedly.

She was appointed in February to lead a specialist taskforce to prevent a return to widespread rough sleeping after helping arrange thousands of hotel and temporary accommodation spaces to get rough sleepers off the streets.

Landlords in England and Wales were banned in March from evicting tenants and repossessing properties.

The ban had been due to end on Sunday.

Housing charity Shelter says 227,000 private renters have fallen into rent arrears since the start of the pandemic, putting them at risk of eviction.