Majority say Tories broke pledge on no-fault evictions
More than half of voters believe the Tories have broken their manifesto promise to ban no-fault evictions for renters, polling suggests.
Following a decision to announce an indefinite delay to the plans, 57 per cent of all voters said the Conservatives have failed to deliver on the pledge first put forward by Theresa May five years ago.
The proposal was incorporated into the party’s 2019 election manifesto under Boris Johnson.
It comes in the wake of the Government’s decision to row back on its pledge to scrap no fault evictions under its Renters (Reform) Bill, prompting a severe backlash from housing campaigners.
The survey of 1,180 voters by Survation for campaign group 38 Degrees also found recent Government moves to “bolster landlord protections” have gone down badly with the public, with 60 per cent saying landlords do not need them.
Among those affected by no fault evictions is Bob Waymouth, 73, from Ipswich, who has been forced to move home five times over the past 14 years. “It’s very difficult to put down roots anywhere, and if you’re moving every couple of years it costs a huge amount of money,” Mr Waymouth said.
“The house we were in before this, I asked the landlord if he had any plans to sell within the next few years, he said, ‘No, no, it’s all yours.’ Two years later he tells us he wants to sell.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesman said: “We are committed to our landmark Renters (Reform) Bill that will provide a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords. It will abolish Section 21 evictions.”