Housing Secretary Michael Gove has pledged that the long awaited Rental Reform Bill will be introduced into the Commons in two months time.

He told Laura Keunnsberg yesterday: “We’re being forward reforms a little later this year – in a couple of months time actually – to see how the private rental sector can be better regulated.

“We’re not talking about rent controls or rent caps but we are talking about protections for tenants.”

Then Gove moved on to the vexed subject of Section 21 powers for landlords being scrapped.

He told Keunnsberg: “At the moment there’s a situation where tenants can be evicted without any fault on their part and some – a tiny minority – of unscrupulous landlords are using the threat of eviction to jack up rents and to victimise tenants.

“So it’s important to recognise … that a healthy private rental sector is absolutely vital to knowing we have the right people with the right homes at the right time.

“So we need to always protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords even as we also give landlords the right to get rid of anti-social tenants.”

Last year set out a series of proposals for the private rental sector in a White Paper called A Fairer Private Rented Sector, including ending the use of rent review clauses and helping tenants challenge so-called ‘excessive rent’ hikes through the First Tier Tribunal.

The proposals also include a Decent Homes Standard for privately rented homes and introducing a mandatory Ombudsman scheme which all landlords must join.