With Prime Minister Rishi Sunak confirming that the General Election will take place on July 4th it means that the Government will fail to deliver its no-fault election manifesto commitment.
Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “The 2019 Conservative manifesto promised to deliver a better deal for private renters and an end to section 21 evictions. The announcement of the general election for 4th July is confirmation that the government has failed to deliver that manifesto commitment.
“The Renters (Reform) Bill has always had holes, but after successive concessions to landlord groups it is hardly worth the paper it is written on. If the Government isn’t willing to make wholesale changes through the parliamentary ‘washup’ process, and there is no evidence they are, then the bill should fall and the next government should start again.
“We look forward to parties setting out how they plan to tackle the acute crisis of insecurity, disrepair and unaffordability facing private renters.”
In February, Housing Secretary Michael Gove promised on the Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg show that no-fault evictions would have been “outlawed” by the next election.
In April, renters’ groups announced they believed the much-anticipated legislation would “be a failure in its current form” following repeated government concessions to the landlord lobby, arguing it “preserves the central power imbalance at the root of why renting in England is in crisis.”
Polling conducted by the Renters’ Reform Coalition has found strong public support for measures they are demanding to support private renters, such as longer notice periods, two years’ protection from eviction with new tenancies, and measures to restrict private rents from increasing beyond the rate of wage or price inflation – including among Conservative voters.
