Fury over 'grubby' Tory betrayal as watered down rental reform Bill passes
Ministers have been accused of making "grubby" deals with Tory landlords after admitting no-fault evictions may not be banned before the general election.
Despite promising to do end the practice, Housing Secretary Michael Gove conceded that it may not happen by the time voters go to the polls - leaving millions of tenants at the mercy of unscrupulous landlords.
Shadow Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook lashed out at the Government for caving in to disgruntled Tory MPs - saying many had "vested interests". He branded the Government "weak and divided" and told the Commons: "The reality of the grubby political horse-trading that has taken place within the Government is entirely transparent."
It came as Mr Gove only said he "hopes" a ban on no-fault evictions - or Section 21 notices - will become law before Britain heads to the polls. These allow landlords to evict tenants on a whim and without reason, and many charities have blamed them for increased levels of homelessness.
The Tories first pledged to do this five years ago. But now the Government says a ban won't come in until the court system is ready to enforce it. No10 refused to give a timetable for this to happen.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner confronted Tory counterpart Oliver Dowden about the impact this is having, telling him: "Natalie from Brighton has been served with two no-fault eviction notices in 18 months, she joins nearly a million families at risk of homelessness due to his party's failure to ban this cruel practice."
She demanded to know when the Government would "get a grip". Campaigners have criticised ministers for weakening the long-awaited Renters Reform Bill, which cleared its final hurdle in the Commons.
Matthew McGregor, chief executive of campaign group 38 Degrees, said the Bill is "nothing short of a failure". He said: “When at least one in five Conservative MPs are themselves landlords, it’s easy to see why the public fears our lawmakers aren’t putting renters' interests first."
In October The Mirror reported that according to the register of members' interests, 80 Conservative MPs rent out properties in the UK. Tory Natalie Elphicke told her colleagues the Bill is a "betrayal".
She told the Commons: "Now this is a Bill that the Conservative manifesto in 2019 promised would benefit tenants. Instead, this has become a Bill where the balance too often is in favour of the landlords." She warned that Government amendments could "indefinitely delay" no-fault evictions.
She said: "If that were so, that would be nothing short of a betrayal for the Conservative manifesto that was promised in 2019 and, for that reason, I'm unable to support this today."
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “The Government has led private renters down the garden path and dashed their best chance of a secure home. It has committed a colossal act of cowardice in the Commons by ratifying an indefinite delay to the ban on no-fault evictions, and by sneaking fixed-term tenancies back into the Renters (Reform) Bill.
“For every day the government has spent weakening the Renters (Reform) Bill, at least 500 renters are slapped with a no-fault eviction notice. With the spectre of homelessness never far away, renters will remain powerless to challenge dangerous conditions and unfair rent hikes.
“England’s 11 million tenants will not stand for a threadbare version of the reforms they were first promised five years ago, and Shelter cannot support the Bill without serious changes. Unless it is overhauled, this betrayal will not be easily forgotten when renters head for the ballot box.”