Revolution for renters

10million will no longer face ‘no fault’ evictions or a blanket ban on pets under major reforms in housing Bill

MORE than ten million renters will no longer face the threat of ‘no fault’ evictions or a blanket ban on pet ownership under reforms being introduced to Parliament today.

Under the Renters’ Reform Bill, it will no longer be possible to evict tenants under Section 21 of the Housing Act, which gave landlords the power to remove them without justification.

Britain’s two million landlords will only be able to increase the rent once a year under the legislation – and will have to give tenants two months’ notice for such hikes. The measures have sparked concerns that many property owners will withdraw from the rental market and the housing supply crisis will deepen.

But landlords will also benefit from measures making it easier to evict irresponsible or anti- social tenants and recover their property when they need to sell it or move in a family member.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe, cold homes, powerless to put things right, and with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them.

‘Our new laws introduced to Parliament today will support the vast majority of responsible landlords who provide quality homes to their tenants, while delivering our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 “no-fault” evictions.’

Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Shelter, added: ‘The Renters’ Reform Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally fix private renting. [It] must truly deliver change for renters when it becomes law, and it should be as strong as possible with every loophole closed, so that no renter can be unfairly evicted.

‘The Government must keep renters at the forefront to make sure this Bill has the teeth needed for real change.’

Landlords will also have to prove why any requests from tenants to have pets are unreasonable.

Owen Sharp, chief executive of Dogs Trust, said: ‘The new measures introduced are a potential game-changer for responsible dog owners who rent.

‘For too long, people living in rented accommodation have not been able to enjoy the benefits and companionship of a pet just because of the type of housing they live in.’

But Labour’s levelling up spokesman Lisa Nandy said: ‘After years of delay, broken promises and arguments amongst themselves, the private rented sector increasingly resembles the Wild West and it’s far from clear that this Government can deliver.’

Critics also suggested that scrapping no-fault evictions could make properties harder to rent for some tenants. Matthew Lesh, of the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said: ‘Landlords will inevitably be more selective about who they offer properties to and charge higher rents when they cannot quickly evict bad tenants. That is likely to disproportionately hurt those who are poorer, younger, and from minority communities.

‘New eviction rules and burdensome regulatory standards will only worsen the rental property shortage and record-high rents. The housing crisis won’t be solved by fiddling with rental rules.’

Some Tory MPs have warned the legislation will drive landlords out of the market entirely.

Craig Mackinlay, himself a landlord, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘The reality is, landlords will abandon the market and we will have a very serious housing crisis on our hands. We have seen too much of a war against landlords.’

Last night Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, warned: ‘Responsible landlords need to be confident that when Section 21 ends, where they have a legitimate reason, they will be able to repossess their properties as quickly as possible.

‘Without this assurance, the Bill will only exacerbate the rental housing supply crisis many tenants now face.’

Last night Mr Gove said he was still committed to reforming the leasehold system to increase home ownership.

He told the National Conservatism conference in central London: ‘What we’re going to do is bring forward legislation in order to reform that system.’

‘Resembles the Wild West’

‘Serious crisis on our hands’