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Jenrick defends government’s protection plan for renters as ‘most credible’ option
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick has said the government’s plan for protecting renters from eviction during the coronavirus crisis is the “credible” option, following criticism from the Labour Party that it does not go far enough.
Speaking today in the House of Commons, shadow housing minister Thangam Debbonaire said the government’s plan to protect renters once the temporary eviction ban is lifted is “not enough”.
The plan, which was announced by Mr Jenrick last week, involves introducing a pre-action protocol that would require landlords to engage with tenants over rent arrears before entering into eviction proceedings.
Ms Debbonaire asked Mr Jenrick to consider Labour’s proposals on evictions, which involve halting Section 8 evictions, if the ground for eviction is arrears caused by the coronavirus lockdown.
Section 8 of the Housing Act allows landlords to evict tenants through possession proceedings on the grounds of non payment, if they haven’t paid rent for more than two months.
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In response to Ms Debbonaire, Mr Jenrick said: “We’ve changed the law to have a moratorium on evictions so that no possession proceedings can continue and that will go up until June, at which point I, as secretary of state, have the ability to extend that if we need to.”
He added: “We’ll also be proceeding with the pre-action protocol, working with the Master of the Rolls to ensure that provides an added degree of protection for those individuals.”
Mr Jenrick then went on to criticise Labour’s proposals outlined last week by Ms Debbonaire in Inside Housing. The plan included the introduction of a two-year repayment period for renters who have fallen into arrears.
Mr Jenrick said: “I don’t support the Labour proposal, which is to encourage people not to pay rent and to build up potentially unmanageable degrees of debt so that in six, nine or 12 months’ time their credit rating would be shredded and they’d be in a very difficult financial position.
“We are developing a much more credible plan to protect renters and to help to shield them through this crisis.”
The plan sparked a debate within the Labour Party, with more than 4,000 party members signing an open letter calling on the party to pressure the government to cancel rent payments for those experiencing a drop in income due to the crisis.
Labour’s five-point plan consists of:
- An extension to the ban on evictions to allow further protections to be introduced
- A change to the law on arrears to protect people who have got into difficulty due to the coronavirus outbreak
- A two-year period to pay back any arrears
- A protection from bankruptcy as a result of arrears
- Increased generosity in the benefits system to help reduce arrears and prevent tenants falling into them in the first place
Meanwhile, homelessness charity Shelter has criticised the government’s plans to protect renters when the eviction ban ends, arguing that the pre-action protocol could become merely “words on a page”.
