The government’s pledge to scrap Section 21 eviction powers for landlords and agents is  “the worst form of gesture politics in practice.”

That’s the view of a prominent Tory writing on the Conservative Home website.

Ryan Bourne – Chair in Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato Institute in Washington DC – says the move is just a symbolic way for politicians to show they care about renters’ plight that substitutes for the urgent need for more homes.

In his piece Bourne says tenants have become a more vocal lobbying group as they are now do numerous.

However he insists there are worrying unintended consequences to scrapping Section 21, namely of the need for tougher referencing for tenants as landlords become more diligent, making it harder for those on benefits to become private tenants, and then higher rents as some landlords use rent hikes to force out tenants.

But he predicts fewer people will be willing to become private landlords and more will choose Airbnb as their preferred rental platform.

“Those harmed most by limited rental options will be the poorest, those without deposits for owner-occupied housing, and those for whom accessing new private rental accommodation is a route to a better job or life” he adds.

“The beneficiaries will be those who want to stay in a property for years and years.”