No-fault evictions will finally be banned under Labour plans to “protect” renters from bad landlords.
The last Tory government repeatedly vowed to end so-called “Section 21” evictions, but failed to do so because of opposition from their own MPs.
A new Renters’ Rights Bill will be introduced to parliament today which, thanks to Labour’s huge Commons majority, is certain to become law.
As well as banning no-fault evictions - which saw 26,000 households have their tenancies scrapped last year alone - the legislation will ban landlords from increasing rents more than once a year and introduce a new “decent homes standards” for private sector properties.
Rental bidding wars will also be banned, as will blanket bans on tenants with children or who claim benefits.
Awaab’s Law - which would force landlords to urgently address mould and damp problems in their properties - will also come into force at last.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “Renters have been let down for too long and too many are stuck in disgraceful conditions, powerless to act because of the threat of a retaliatory eviction hanging over them.
“Most landlords act in a responsible way but a small number of unscrupulous ones are tarnishing the reputation of the whole sector by making the most of the housing crisis and forcing tenants into bidding wars.
“There can be no more dither and delay. We must overhaul renting and rebalance the relationship between tenant and landlord. This bill will do just that and tenants can be reassured this government will protect them.”
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said: “Plans to reform the private rented sector have been on the table for over five years now. Above all, renters and landlords need certainty about what the future looks like.
“Whilst we await the precise details of the bill, it is vital that it works, and is fair, to both tenants and landlords.”
A Conservative spokesperson said: “Conservatives believe in ensuring choice and freedom, whatever home they live in.
“But new regulation must be necessary and proportionate. Otherwise, as it has in Scotland, badly drafted laws will cut supply, forcing up rents and reducing choice for renters.
“We await to see the details of Labour’s proposals and hope they are more coherent and thought-through than their interventions in other policy areas so far.”