Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove have been accused of caving in to Tory MPs lobbying in favour of landlords’ interests after it emerged that significant aspects of the renters’ reform bill are to be watered down.
Changes will include an amendment to prevent tenants ending contracts in a tenancy’s first six months, and another casting doubt on the removal of no-fault evictions, a minister told MPs in a leaked letter.
Campaigners and opposition MPs have criticised the changes.
The long-delayed bill, which was supposed to change the balance of power between tenants and landlords, allows tenants to end a tenancy with two months’ notice at any point. But that would change under a new amendment.
The government also came under fire for apparently casting doubts over a commitment to getting rid of so-called no-fault evictions, known as section 21 notices, by saying in the same letter that another amendment would require the lord chancellor to publish an assessment on the “readiness” of the courts before such a ban.
The number of households evicted by bailiffs as a result of no-fault evictions rose 39% in 2023 compared with 2022, according to a recent analysis of Ministry of Justice figures by the housing charity Shelter.
Another example of the bill being watered down includes a plan to exempt all landlords renting to students – rather than just those with larger properties – from parts of the bill, introduced by Gove.
The letter was sent out on Wednesday by Jacob Young, a communities minister who told parliament earlier this month: “We are absolutely committed to the abolition of section 21. I am personally committed to that and we will bring back the bill as soon as we’re able to.”
The concessions come after a campaign by Conservative MPs to water down or delay the new laws designed to better protect England’s 11 million private renters. Almost a third of the MPs involved in those moves are landlords, analysis has revealed.
The Renters’ Reform Coalition, which represents tenant groups, said the bill was fast becoming a “landlords’ charter” and accused the government of “selling renters down the river” with concessions that would delay the vast majority of renters from feeling the benefits of the reform and lock them into unsafe and unsuitable housing.
Tom Darling, the campaign manager at the coalition, said: “Renters will be hoping to see significant changes to the bill in the House of Lords. Otherwise, this legislation will hardly be an improvement on the status quo, and in some case it will make things worse.”
Ben Beadle, the chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said the “rumour, speculation and off-the-record briefings about the future of the bill has caused a huge amount of concern and uncertainty for tenants and responsible landlords”.
He said: “The government has a mandate to end section 21 repossessions. Our focus has been on ensuring that the replacement system works, and is fair, to both tenants and responsible landlords. The changes being proposed would achieve this balance.”
Matthew Pennycook, the shadow housing minister, accused Sunak and Gove of “putting the interests of party management ahead of what is right for the British people”.
He said: “After years of delay, private renters have every right to be furious at the watering down of the vital protections the Tories promised them.”
Young stated in the letter that “having listened to MPs and the sector”, the government would bring forward amendments addressing “outstanding concerns”. The bill is to return to the Commons after the Easter recess, which ends for report stage when MPs have an opportunity to consider further amendments.
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “Our landmark renters’ (reform) bill will deliver a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords. It will abolish section 21 evictions – giving people more security in their homes and empowering them to challenge poor practices.
“The bill must strike the balance between delivering security for tenants and fairness for landlords. We have listened to feedback from landlord and tenant groups and from MPs, and will bring amendments forward at Commons report stage after Easter recess.”
