As the Renters (Reform) Bill receives its Second Reading in the House of Commons today, polling conducted by Opinium and commissioned by the Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC) found strong public support for the pro-renter reforms, and proposals for rental reforms that go beyond the legislation.
The results also showed Conservative Party support in ‘freefall’ among the quarter of its 2019 voters who are private renters, with less than half (47%) now saying they will back the party at the next election.
The polling was released as renters and pro-renter campaign groups arrived at Westminster today (23rd October) to demand MPs honour their manifesto commitments to reform private renting.
It also came amid rumours of a backlash to the legislation among pro-landlord Conservative MPs, who have allegedly threatened to vote against the rental reforms.
This may have been the cause for the five-month delay between the Bill’s First Reading and Second Reading.
87 MPs were found to earn an income from residential property, of whom 68 were Conservatives.
The Bill is likely to pass Second Reading and be carried over to the new Parliamentary session, as opposition parties indicated they will support it, but if the rebellion is larger than the Government’s majority, it could leave the future of the legislation uncertain.
The polling, carried out with a sample of 4,295 voters in England between 17th and 20th October showed strong public support for the proposals in the Renters (Reform) Bill, with strong majority support for RRC asks that go beyond the provisions in the bill as currently written, including from Conservative voters.
The results included 72% of respondents supporting a ban on Section 21 evictions, where a landlord can evict a tenant without providing a reason.
A strong majority (71%) of respondents supported increasing the notice landlords are required to give tenants from two months, as proposed in the Bill, to four months.
62% of respondents supported measures to protect renters from eviction through no-fault of their own for the first two years of their tenancy; currently, there is only a six-month ‘protected period’ proposed in the Bill.
More than two-thirds (68%) supported rental reforms to prevent private rents increasing beyond the rate of wage or price inflation – indicating support for the RRC’s proposal to prevent unaffordable rent increases being ‘economic evictions’ under the reformed system.
Despite Conservatives apparently losing renter support, 54% of those who owned their own home indicated they would vote Conservative at the next election.
Among private renters overall, just 15% intended to vote Conservative.
Tom Darling, campaign manager at the RRC, said: “It’s shocking that we are only now at Second Reading of this Bill – in the four years since the promise to end no-fault evictions was first made, more than 100,000 have been put at risk of homelessness as a result of a Section 21.
“If that isn’t a good enough reason for some of these pro-landlord MPs to vote for this bill, then they should be warned that our polling today shows broad public support for pro-renter measures in the bill and even those that go well beyond the legislation – including from Conservative voters.
“And there’s a particular warning for the Conservative party who, perhaps contrary to the received wisdom, had one in four of their voters from 2019 live in the private rented sector. That support is now in freefall.”
He added: “So the RRC are calling on all MPs to support this legislation tonight – then we will be working in parliament to strengthen the legislation with longer notice periods, more security, more requirements on landlords to provide decent quality homes, and a measure to restrict in-tenancy rent increases.
“Only then will England’s 11 million private renters see the transformation to our housing experience that we so desperately need.”
