Tenants ‘let down’ as Renters (Reform) Bill will not pass before general election

Afterwards, however, ministers had watered down the pledge to appease backbench Conservative MPs, saying the ban on Section 21 evictions will only be introduced after several court reforms took place.

Other elements of the bill, such as making blanket bans on benefit claimants unlawful, will also be lost. As will a Decent Homes Standard for the private rented sector that has not yet been published.

By late April, campaign groups, including housing and homelessness charity Shelter and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, withdrew their support for the bill, saying it would be a failure in its current form.

Labour has pledged to complete the reforms. Shadow housing minister Matthew Pennycook said: “The Tories’ decision to cave in to vested interests and abandon the Renters (Reform) Bill leaves in tatters the promises they made to private tenants five years ago.

“Labour will pass renters reform legislation that levels decisively the playing field between landlords and tenants.”

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “The government had five long years and every opportunity to honour its manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions, but instead it has failed England’s 11 million renters. Renters have been shouting from the rooftops about the urgent need for reform, but once again politicians have let them down.

“Tenants have endured hellish conditions and rocketing evictions, with 77,000 households threatened with homelessness because of a no-fault eviction since the government promised to scrap them. It’s unacceptable that they’ve now walked away with nothing to show for it. 

“Renters can no longer be ignored, and lip service won’t cut it this time. All political parties must commit to abolishing unfair no fault evictions in all forms, and making renting safer, secure and more affordable.”

Alistair Smyth, director of policy and Research at the National Housing Federation, said: “We’re deeply concerned to hear that the Renters Reform Bill is now unlikely to pass through Parliament. Private renters deserve greater protection from no fault evictions which cause untold upheaval and stress, forcing renters to uproot their lives and putting those on low incomes at risk of homelessness.”

While the Renters (Reform) Bill will not pass, the government’s Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill will be considered by the House of Lords in the afternoon of 24 May, meaning it could still pass ahead of the election on 4 July.

A consultation on ground rents that is reported to propose a cap of £250 has not yet been published.

A spokesperson for the National Leasehold Campaign (NLC) said: “We are pleased to see the Leasehold and Freehold Bill has made it into the parliamentary wash-up process. The NLC and the Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, alongside the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Leasehold [and Commonhold] Reform, has put a tremendous amount of work over the past eight years to get to this point. We are pleased our collective efforts haven’t been wasted.

“However the devil, as always, will be in the detail of what is going to be included in the bill.  

“The outcome of the ground rent consultation was imminent prior to general election being called. It would be a missed opportunity if this amendment was not included in the bill.

“Existing Leaseholders remain in a state of ‘leasehold limbo’ wondering if they will be helped by this bill. It remains to be seen how far this bill will go, but rest assured that there will still be some way to go to achieve our goal of abolishing leasehold and a move to commonhold. Abolishing the medieval leasehold system must be in all manifestos and any incoming government must prioritise this.”