By Jessica Frank-Keyes
Parliament has been urged to support the Renters Reform Bill which would end no-fault evictions despite fears landlord MPs could rebel against the legislation.
Some MPs who own rental properties say they will be among landlords leaving the market due to what they call an “unconservative” policy on Section 21, according to the Telegraph.
But campaigners from the Renters Reform Coalition have urged them to think again, warning that polling “shows broad public support for pro-renter measures in the bill and even those that go well beyond the legislation, including from Conservative voters”.
The Bill is expected to have its long-awaited second reading in the House of Commons on Monday – meaning it will be carried over into the next Parliamentary session after the King’s Speech, next month.
Sponsored by levelling up secretary Michael Gove, it aims to protect renters by scrapping Section 21 – which allows private landlords to repossess without proving tenants are at fault.
But the Telegraph reports the government is trying to soothe a potential rebellion over the new measures, by encouraging MPs opposed to the bill to skip the vote rather than oppose.
Potential rebels see the bill as anti-landlord and warn it risks worsening the shortage of privately rented homes and upping rents, as owners will sell up due to the policy.
Research by 38 Degrees earlier this year, revealed 87 MPs, including 68 Tories, or around a fifth of the party, and five cabinet ministers – are currently earning income as landlords.
Tom Darling, from the Renters’ Reform Coalition said it was “shocking” the bill had not made more progress, and added: “There’s a particular warning for the Conservatives who, perhaps contrary to received wisdom, had one in four of their voters from 2019 living in the private rented sector. That support is now in freefall.”
Labour have pledged not to block the bill, meaning it is likely to pass. Shadow levelling up secretary Angela Rayner said her party welcomed the bill but, if elected, would “look to strengthen it to ensure it meets the scale of the housing crisis”.
A government spokesman said: “The Renters Reform Bill delivers on our manifesto commitment to create a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords.
“We are progressing the Bill through Parliament with a second reading, so we can create a private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century.”
