x
By using this website, you agree to our use of cookies to enhance your experience.
award
award award
award award

OTHER GUIDES & TIPS

Will Renters Reform Bill be delayed by Boris Johnson clinging to power?

Overnight speculation of a Cabinet reshuffle has yet again led to uncertainty over the Renters’ Reform Bill, pledging a radical shake-up of the private rental sector.

Last evening it was announced that in a confidence vote in Boris Johnson, some 211 were in favour of his remaining Prime Minister and Conservative leader, but with a higher-than-expected 148 saying they did not back him.

Just over 40 per cent of the Parliamentary Conservative Party are now against Johnson.

Advertisement

The Renters Reform Bill, and a White Paper on some specific provisions, have been in the offing for three years since the govrrnment first advocated the scrapping of Section 21 eviction powers, and greater rights for tenants over deposits, notice periods and other aspects of the rental process.

Yesterday the minister charged with steering through the Renters Reform Bill at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities voted for Boris Johnson in the Tories’ confidence vote.

Eddie Hughes - MP for Walsall North, and who was appointed to his junior ministerial role by Johnson - tweeted yesterday: “When Boris came to Bloxwich in April 2019 I saw first-hand the amazing connection he has with the public - like no other Conservative PM before him. 8 months later he delivered an 80 seat Conservative majority. #BackBoris”  Hughes’ Twitter account was changed to remove the MP’s own photograph and replace it with a Back Boris badge. 

Meanwhile another MP appointed to high office by Johnson - Hughes’ boss, Housing Secretary Michael Gove - also backed the Prime Minister on social media, tweeting words strikingly similar to other senior ministers: “I’ll be voting for Boris this evening. The PM got the big decisions right on Brexit and Covid. We need to focus now on defending Ukraine, driving levelling-up and generating growth. We need to move past this moment and unite behind Boris to meet these challenges.”

However, if there is a further Cabinet reshuffle as a result of the sizable opposition to Johnson expressed in the confidence vote, it is possible that the reform Bill and White Paper could undergo further delays.

Even if these are laid before Parliament shortly - with Johnson still in office - it is thought likely that they could take up to a year to go through the formal consultation processes and the slow route through Parliament itself.  Some are speculating that could be longer than Johnson has in office if internal pressures continue within the Conservative party. 

 

Before the overnight speculation of a delay, campaigning charity Shelter said it wanted the scrapping of Section 21 to be accelerated.

It claims 5,890 landlords in England started Section 21 eviction court proceedings against tenants between January and March 2022 – up 41 per cent compared to the same period in 2020 before the pandemic. Claims for eviction for other reasons by private landlords also increased, totalling 6,316 claims in the first quarter of 2022 – up by 11 per cent on the same period in 2020.

Overall 18,626 eviction claims were made to court by landlords between January and March 2022, up by 32 per cent on the previous quarter.

The government first committed to scrap Section 21 evictions in April 2019 and Shelter says that since then, nearly 230,000 private renters in England have been served with a formal eviction notice.

Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive, says: “It’s alarming that as the living cost crisis rages more landlords are kicking tenants out of their homes. These are real people whose lives are being turned upside down and simply cannot afford to lose their homes right now. Every day our emergency helpline supports renters who are scrambling around trying to find another home after being slapped with a no-fault eviction. But soaring living costs mean many are struggling to stump up the cash for a house move they don’t want to make. 

“While scrapping Section 21 evictions alone won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis for renters, it will at least give them some much needed security in their homes. The government promised renters three times that it will introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill to scrap unfair Section 21 no-fault evictions. Now, it must get the job done as every minute wasted puts another renter at risk.”

Want to comment on this story? If so...if any post is considered to victimise, harass, degrade or intimidate an individual or group of individuals on any basis, then the post may be deleted and the individual immediately banned from posting in future.

Join the conversation

  • George Dawes

    Boris is in for the long haul , not because he’s particularly intelligent and certainly not trustworthy, he’s got an agenda to carry out for his paymasters , he could have an approval rating of minus a zillion and he’d still be in power

    Democracy , the illusion of choice …

  • icon

    Yes George, l believe you are correct. His ability to be deceitful seems to be the most endearing quality to his backers.

  • George Dawes

    People not allowed to see their dying relatives while he sat around swigging booze with his pals

    To call him a truly odious character would be an understatement

    The labour lot aren't much better - Lammy , Sir Keir Starmer QC etc ...

    We need another Guy Fawkes 'great reset'

  • icon

    Well if Boris hanging on allows more landlords to evict before the ban, then all for the good. We all know it will happen, and I await the horrific stories that will come after with landlords being unable to evict.

    icon

    thats rubbish, you will still be able to evict for non payment and a load of other get out clasues

     
    PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    I believe that post Renters Reform, there will be a lot less evictions.
    That will mainly be due to a swathe of tenants not being eligible to rent Privately. Guarantors being de rigueur .
    The Social and Local authority sector will nowhere near be able to pick up the slack and there'll be carnage. ( for tenants )
    But tenant groups should have been careful what they asked for - and in whose interests that served. It certainly wont be the majority of tenants. ( and far less Freeloaders will get a look-in, certainly in the PRS )

     
  • icon

    It is all very well stating the numbers of evictions under Section 21 but the reasons must be listed. There are very good reasons in most cases why tenants are evicted.
    Perhaps Shelter and other such organisations should ask landlords why tenants were evicted!
    Landlords are not exempt from the huge rises in the cost of living and many I am sure need are being forced to sell to enable them to survive. For many, like me income provides a pension.
    Landlords are NOT a secondary welfare state. If the local housing allowance was realistic and more common sense applied then perhaps that would help some landlords and their tenants.


    icon

    your right landlords are not charaties thats why ive had to pay my rent for 20 years on 7 properties and all have issues a section 21 and none where for non payment of rent, you are so very wrong

     
  • icon

    It is all very well stating the numbers of evictions under Section 21 but the reasons must be listed. There are very good reasons in most cases why tenants are evicted.
    Perhaps Shelter and other such organisations should ask landlords why tenants were evicted!
    Landlords are not exempt from the huge rises in the cost of living and many I am sure need are being forced to sell to enable them to survive. For many, like me income provides a pension.
    Landlords are NOT a secondary welfare state. If the local housing allowance was realistic and more common sense applied then perhaps that would help some landlords and their tenants.


  • icon

    Shelter, yet again offering no physical support themselves other than to demand others do it. Firstly notice they compare evictions in q1 of this year to evictions of q1 2020 “before Covid” - it was not before Covid at all.

    Using their numbers; no fault evictions went from 0.1% to 0.14% of total renters (4.4million households)- so although it may have been a 41% increase, it was still a minute number to a minute number. But 41% does sound far more impressive than 0.04% increase doesn’t it?

    icon

    but behind these figures are lives ruined by landlords issuing them and many are not through non payment mine included

     
  • icon

    Regardless of the figures, all landlords should be able to take possession of their property if they want to. If the renter wants absolute right to stay for as long as they want, then they should buy a property. As long as they are renting they have to live with the risk of being evicted.

    icon

    Your comment proves why the PRS under current rules is inhuman giving people like you the power to evict and ruin lives as the law allows it , to you booting someone out who is paying is a cost of a postage stamp for a renter its stress, expense and even homelessness in the same way you dont care if thats the outcome why would I care if you want my rental back to sell, I dont care about you and you dont care about me

     
    PossessionFriendUK PossessionFriend

    There is a more 'secure option' of renting for tenants, its called social housing and Council Housing ( where you can find it ! ) but the key word in understanding PRIVATE renting, is that its PRIVATELY owned and does Not offer Secure tenancies.

    As John said, security of tenure costs money in mortgage payments or else social providers.

     
  • icon

    If a couple want to buy a property it is possible. With a 95% mortgage buying a small house or flat you could get away with 4-5k deposit. A couple both on minimum wage, work hard and live a simple life for a few years would be able to save enough to buy a property. The mortgage payments could well be less then the rent. It might not be the best property or in the best location, but once on the property ladder they would have secure accommodation.

  • icon

    David l do care about my tenants, good tenants you don't get rid off, you support them, where possible. Unfortunately some people see landlords as a cash cow, and you seem to be one of them. The tenant has security of tenancy during the contract period. They can then extend it, especially by negotiating a new lease early.A lot of tenants leave after 2 years,of their own volition. Obviously with the whole world coming here, the market will get very tight.

  • icon

    Dave Edmunds, a lot of children are being born with little or no support from their fathers. That's inhiman. Marriage is a legally binding contract which safeguards the mother and children, but is rarely entered into, so we have lots of freak children.

  • icon

    David Edmunds - You appear to be angry a lot and not happy with your lot. It has been said above that privately renting will never be totally secure, how can it when the tenant has no ownership and the private landlord is not obligated (like the local authority) to provide a dwelling for the unfortunate. We all have choice throughout our lives, we have the choice to buy or rent…… that decision has to be accepted and dealt with, I come from a very poor background where my parents did not work and we lived on a god awful council estate, I made the decision early that I did not wish to live that way and made better decisions than my parents ! It really is that easy….. stop looking to others for the answer to life’s ill’s and go out and make the life you want.

  • icon

    Mr. Edmunds. Please do not accuse me of being inhuman.
    I have supported my tenant, a young single man in his 30's since November 2017 both in terms of him living in my flat and financially. He has had sporadic work, shared parenting of a young son, with only universal credit during the pandemic. However, despite trying to believe in him when he lied continually about being in work for 4 months, yet kept promising to pay rent and arrears I had to take action to evict him.
    He is in debt to me of £11,000 of rent arrears and a further £5000.00 in terms of loans to keep his car legal, food, etc.
    I have been accused of being foolish and should have evicted him 3 yrs ago but I didn't.
    There comes a point at which tenants have to take responsibility.
    He was advised by the council and CAB to remain in the property until evicted legally.
    He has declined their offer of accommodation as he said 'it wasn't an option'.
    I too have no choice but to evict him legally. He was given notice in July 2021!!!

    icon

    You gave him a S21 in July? That's 11 months ago. Why is he not out of the property?

     
    icon

    Being a nice person in business generally means you get stabbed in the back, as you have learned here Karen, you won't make that mistake again will you?

     
    Suzy OShea

    Karen Blake,

    I sympathise with your actions and have similar tales of woe and huge debts from tenants which rarely get repaid.

    You tried your hardest to help this man, so you have nothing for which to reproach yourself.

    In future, your generosity must be more limited though!

     
    icon

    That's what happened to me Andrew. I took on some people who passed references but had a few red flags. I thought I has S21 and can get them out if I need to. I have a solicitor I am just waiting for the right time.

     
  • icon

    Go for him NOW!
    AND, put a CCJ on him for the full amount.
    That way, you will wreck his life for years and keep adding a CCG at the end of each 6 years. It is cheap to do.

    And even better too, he will NEVER forget you for life.



  • icon

    Agreed debtors must not be allowed to get away with it as a point of princible.

  • icon

    Don't see how moving house from time to time ruins anyone's life. Some people choose to do this, to move nearer work or relatives for example. Certainly in the past there were plenty of rental properties available for good tenants. Sadly not the case now, due to landlords selling up etc but no landlord evicts good tenants or sells the property without good reason.

  • icon

    Ever the owners move a number of times. I have moved 5 times from properties I owned. What’s all this Renter’s going to live in Same place for ever, Regulators / Council’s / Generation Rent/ Shelter etc talking through their hat, Tare up the White Paper Now before it go green in the interest of Tenants and the economy, do the Country not have enough on its plate with the dreadful current situation, cost of living has Sky Rocketed without bringing in Treasonable Policies to do maximum self damage.

icon

Please login to comment

MovePal MovePal MovePal
sign up