Gove’s pledge: “We will bring forward legislation very shortly”

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has still not given a new date for the publication of the Renters Reform Bill.

It was due to be unveiled this week but was pulled at the last minute, with speculation suggesting that Conservative backbenchers were unhappy at the anti-landlord tone of the measures within it.

ITV News has suggested that it may be published either next week or the week after, but no firm date is being mooted.

The DLUHC team - led by Housing Secretary Michael Gove - has told Landlord Today in a statement: “We will bring forward legislation very shortly.”

It has also confirmed that it will still include “a ban on ‘no fault’ evictions … [and] a Decent Homes Standard for the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever which will make sure privately rented homes are safe and decent.”

However, an unnamed Conservative MP cited in a newspaper claims up to 30 of his or her colleagues may vote against the controversial Bill in its current form, with 20 others abstaining.

The i newspaper, which is published only online, has a story today headlined: “Inside the rebellion over renters Reform Bill led by Tory landlords”. 

The piece is short on certainties and high on speculation: it says “those considering voting against the Government are believed to include high profile Tories such as Jacob Rees Mogg” and adds that “Kevin Hollinrake, the former chairman of national estate agency chain Hunters, is also thought to be a potential rebel.” It names no other MPs at all.

However, it quotes one unnamed Tory backbencher - described as ‘prominent’ - who says: “At the moment we have a government that’s adopting all Jeremy Corbyn housing policies except we’re not building any more homes.

“Why should landlords be forced to accept that market forces don’t apply to them when we’re not committed to building more homes to ease prices. It’s not the fault of landlords that the price of renting is going up. It’s the fault of not enough homes being available to either buy or rent.

“Costs of being a landlord are much higher now, so why shouldn’t landlords be able to charge more and rent their properties to people at the market rate to cover their increased costs?”

In 2019 then-Prime Minister Theresa May pledged to scrap Section 21 evictions and a few months later the Conservative General Election manifesto promised “a better deal for renters” through wide-ranging reform legisation. Almost exactly 12 months ago the government then published a Fairer Private Rental Sector White Paper, outlining measures which were expected to be included in a forthcoming Renters Reform Bill. 

However with numerous changes of Housing Secretary and Housing Minister, there has been a failure so far to bring any version of the Bill to publication stage.

A few days ago the I newspaper used unnamed sources and reported: “A group of Conservative backbenchers – some of whom are landlords and, according to Westminster sources, reportedly include the former chairman of national estate agency chain Hunters, Kevin Hollinrake – are unhappy about the pro-renter legislation and have been lobbying against it.”

There has been only muted reaction within the industry to the latest delay in publication of the Bill.

Oli Sherlock of PropTech platform Goodlord says: "It's really disappointing that the Renters’ Reform Bill has been delayed yet again, especially after the commitment from Michael Gove in recent weeks.

"This Bill has been kicked along the road too many times to count and further delays are feeding uncertainty in a private rented sector that desperately needs stability and a long-term vision. With a commitment to deliver the Bill ‘shortly’ we hope this delay in publishing means within the next week - rather than months."

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