Renters Reform Bill: campaign groups accuse government of banning no-fault evictions 'in name only'

Campaign groups have accused the government of watering down its landmark rental reform, and said its claims to ban no-fault evictions are in “name only”.

The Conservatives promised to ban Section 21 notices, known as no-fault evictions, in their 2019 manifesto. However, the government still hasn’t passed the legislation almost five years on, with landlord Tory MPs pushing Housing Secretary Michael Gove to water down the reforms.

With the bill due to return to the House of Commons today (24 April), the Renters’ Reform Coalition, which represents 20 housing groups, has said it “will be a failure in its current form”.

The coalition said: “The 2019 Conservative Manifesto promised a ‘better deal for renters’ and the government’s White Paper promised a private rented sector ‘with affordability, security and quality at its heart’. We have been clear from the outset that the Renters (Reform) Bill would have no chance of achieving these aims without significant changes.

“Unfortunately, as groups representing and working alongside private tenants in England, our concerns have not been taken seriously. It is revealing that ministers have met with lobbyists for landlords and estate agents twice as often as they have met groups representing renters.

“Instead of engaging with us, the bill has been watered down again and again by the government, with several rounds of damaging concessions to backbench MPs that have fundamentally weakened it. The amendments tabled recently by the government are just the final straw.”

The Renters’ Reform Coalition said an amendment to lock renters in for the first six months of a tenancy will create a tenant trap, and claimed changes to the bill would indefinitely delay the abolition of section 21. The groups’ statement added: “The result of all the government’s backtracking is that we have now have a bill that abolishes section 21 in name only – there is no guarantee it would ever fully abolish section 21, and even then the new tenancy system set to replace it will be little better.

“This legislation is intended to give the impression of improving conditions for renters, but in fact it preserves the central power imbalance at the root of why renting in England is in crisis.”

Darren Baxter, principal policy adviser at Joseph Rowntree Foundation, commented: “As it stands the Renters (Reform) Bill prioritises placating landlords and backbenchers over strengthening tenants’ rights. The Renters’ Reform Coalition is right to highlight the serious inadequacy of the bill, which has been repeatedly watered down. While its primary aim has been to end no-fault evictions, it offers no clear timeframe or commitment as to when this will be done, reneging on promises made to renters over five years ago.

Community union Acorn, which represents thousands of renters across England, said it was withdrawing its support for the Renters Reform Bill over “government concessions to landlord lobbyists”. Research carried out by YouGov, on behalf of homelessness charity Shelter, found that since April 2019, when the Tories promised to ban no-fault evictions, almost one million people had been served Section 21 notices.

Matthew Pennycook, Labour’s Shadow Housing Minister, said: “Instead of ministers having the courage to face down their unruly backbenchers, this weak and divided Conservative government is appeasing them at the expense of private renters who will see the rights and protections they were promised watered down.

“The long overdue end of no-fault evictions cannot be made dependent on unspecified future court improvements subjectively determined by ministers. The government needs to definitively abolish Section 21 evictions at the point the Renters Reform Bill becomes law or a Labour government will finish the job.”

Levelling Up Minister Jacob Young told NationalWorld: “The Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions and ensure a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords.

“These are the biggest changes to the sector in 30 years – and we will continue to work across the sector to ensure the bill passes into law as soon as possible.”

Ralph Blackburn is NationalWorld’s politics editor based in Westminster, where he gets special access to Parliament, MPs and government briefings. If you liked this article you can follow Ralph on X (Twitter) here and sign up to his free weekly newsletter Politics Uncovered, which brings you the latest analysis and gossip from Westminster every Sunday morning.