Rishi Sunak’s government has been accused of letting renters down after it emerged that legislation banning no-fault evictions will not be passed before the election.
The Conservative pledge to end section 21 – or no-fault evictions – will now not be met, as it will not return to the Commons before parliament is prorogued on Friday.
The provision allows landlords to evict tenants without having to give a reason beyond what is in a tenancy agreement.
The bill was first introduced in the Commons in May last year but its progress stalled after Conservative MPs campaigned for stronger protections for landlords.
Commons leader Penny Mordaunt has not included the bill in the list of “wash-up” legislation that could be rushed through by MPs ahead of the election campaign.
Downing Street denied failing renters, with a spokesperson saying: “It’s part of the wash-up process that bills are able to be passed where there is a consensus. But of course the government wanted to get this passed and that’s why it was introduced in the first place.”
Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said renters have been badly let down, adding: “In 2019 the Conservative Manifesto promised to deliver a better deal for private renters and an end to no-fault evictions.
“Renters in England – trapped in an unhealthy, unaffordable and insecure renting system – have been waiting five long years for action on that pledge”.
Labour’s shadow housing minister, Matthew Pennycook, said: “The Tories’ decision to cave in to vested interests and abandon their already-weakened Renters Reform Bill leaves in tatters the promises they made to private tenants five years ago.
“If the Tories get back in, renters will remain exposed to spiralling costs, poor housing standards and the risk of homelessness from no-fault evictions.”
The Liberal Democrats described it as “another Conservative promise abandoned and left in a ditch”.
The party’s housing spokesperson, Helen Morgan, said: “This means the vast majority of renters still face being evicted from their homes through no fault of their own, all because of Conservative infighting.”
Housing charity Shelter said that renters have been “failed”. Polly Neate, the charity’s chief executive, said that politicians had let renters down, adding: “It’s unacceptable that they’ve now walked away with nothing to show for it.”
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) said it will be “hugely disappointing” if the bill is not made into law.
It had supported the bill, which tenants’ campaigners had said had been watered down.
Ben Beadle, from the NRLA, said: “The bill was in a state which would work for tenants and responsible landlords.
“The market now faces yet more crippling uncertainty about what the future of the private rented sector looks like.”
Official figures published this month showed a six-year high in repossessions by bailiffs through no-fault evictions.
There were 2,682 such repossessions between January and March this year, according to Ministry of Justice figures - a rise of almost a fifth on the same period last year and the highest number for any quarter since the beginning of 2018.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “Abandoning the Renters Reform Bill as parliament dissolves means the government has failed in its promise to renters at the last election to deliver a fairer tenancy system.
“If it had not been for delays caused by a minority of MPs opposing the Bill, the government could enter the election campaign with a new law to end Section 21 evictions and bring in stronger protections for renters.”
A Conservative spokesperson said: “This process always happens at the start of a general election campaign - and we have rightly passed legislation delivering justice for those affected by the Post Office and infected blood scandals and securing stronger protections for victims of sexual abuse, domestic violence, and other serious violence.
“Our plan to deliver the homes people need in working, delivering 2.5 million more homes since 2010 and increasing Local Housing Allowance by £800. We remain committed to creating a fairer market for renters.”
