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Rishi Sunak is pushing ahead with a plan to end no-fault evictions in England — four years after the measure was first promised — despite a lengthy row within Britain’s governing Conservative party that threatened to derail the proposal.
The Financial Times revealed last month that the Renters (Reform) Bill had been put on ice, reflecting opposition towards the reforms from many Tory MPs. Eighty-seven MPs earn an income from residential property, of which 68 are Conservatives.
But the prime minister has given the go-ahead for the legislation to return to parliament, according to senior government figures.
Michael Gove, levelling-up secretary, is understood to have won the internal battle over the legislation and it will now have its crucial second reading in the House of Commons on Monday.
There will then be a “carry-over motion” which will allow the bill to make it through into the next parliamentary session that begins with the King’s Speech on November 7.
The news would be welcomed by Britain’s 11mn people living in rented accommodation, said Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter.
“Every day 540 people are slapped with a no-fault eviction notice and given just two months to find a new home. For them, needless delays and hold-ups to making renting safer and fairer are unacceptable,” she said.
“A robust Renters (Reform) Bill has the potential to free people from the constant threat of a no-fault eviction. It would reduce homelessness and hold landlords who let out unsafe homes to account.”
The Conservatives announced plans to reform the rental market in their 2019 manifesto and it was introduced into the House of Commons in May.
Under the proposed bill, landlords would gain stronger rights to repossess properties where tenants exhibit antisocial behaviour or repeatedly build up rent arrears.
Crucially, the legislation would also enable the abolition of short-hold tenancies and with them “no-fault” evictions, a policy that has been welcomed by campaign groups.
Under current housing legislation landlords can evict tenants without giving a reason through “Section 21 notices”. After just two months from that moment landlords can apply for a court order to evict the tenants.
However, there had been growing concerns among campaigners that the legislation could be thwarted by hostile Tory MPs with time running out for the bill to proceed through parliament before the King’s Speech.
Penny Mordaunt, leader of the House of Commons, did not include the bill’s second reading in her announcement of business for the remainder of the current parliamentary session.
Angela Rayner, shadow levelling-up secretary, had complained that the “zombie government” was failing to progress the legislation.
On Monday a group of 30 charities and non-profit organisations — from Citizens Advice to the Child Poverty Action Group — urged Sunak to pass the bill, saying that delays would risk causing “more avoidable hardship and suffering”.
But Sunak told a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning that he wanted to proceed with the legislation after all, according to government aides.
The government said it remained “absolutely committed to delivering a fairer private rented sector for tenants and landlords through the Renters (Reform) Bill” and that its “second reading will follow shortly”.
Gove has meanwhile written to MPs to seek to reassure them that his reforms “strike the right balance for both landlords and tenants”, citing an impact assessment showing average net costs to landlords will be as little as £10 per property.
The minister told MPs that landlords would retain their right to swiftly get their properties back where they needed to.
He pledged that the changes to Section 21 would not be introduced until various reforms to the justice system were in place, including prioritising cases such as anti-social behaviour.
Gove also said the government would protect the right of landlords to increase rents in line with market levels.
