A fifth of Conservative MPs earn income from rental properties. Photo: MATT CARDY/GETTY
MPs who own rental properties will be among Conservative rebels claim a flood of landlords will leave the market if Rishi Sunak pushes through an «unConservative» policy to ban no-fault evictions.
The government is trying to quell a riot over the tenant reform bill. encouraging would-be rebels to skip Monday's vote or otherwise abstain, the Telegraph has learned.
Compiled by Michael Gove. The Tenant Reform Bill aims to protect tenants by ending Section 21 evictions, which allow private landlords to repossess their property without having to prove the tenant's fault.
However, the Bill has angered a large number of Tory MPs who see it as anti-landlord and believe it will worsen the shortage of private rented housing.
87 MPs earn income from residential property, according to research published earlier this year , of whom 68 are Conservatives — that's about a fifth of Conservative MPs.
Marco Longhi, MP for Dudley North, said he felt unable to support the bill in its current form. “If I am forced to vote, I will vote against it, and this will be the first time I have voted against the government's position,” he said.
“In-depth knowledge of the market”
“ I am a homeowner, so I declare an interest «, he added. “But I have deep knowledge of how the market works.”
«Not only is this very bad for landlords, as evidenced by the number of landlords leaving the market in droves, but for that very reason it is also a terrible deal for tenants.»
Mr Longhi said his colleague- Deputy landowners considered their position. “There are a lot of MPs who are landlords of all [political] colours,” he said. “Many of them are privately telling me, as well as many homeowners I know in the market, that they are getting out of the market.”
He said the shrinking housing supply will “just increase.” demand» and rent «even further». “The whole approach from a political point of view is very unconservative,”
Another Conservative member who is not a landlord said he had heard similar things from colleagues who own rental properties. «Those who are smallholders are very adamant that this is very harmful and in some cases they may want to give up,» they said.
To quell the rebellion, the Telegraph understands some MPs are being «slipped», with whips giving them permission not to attend to ensure they do not vote against the bill.
A backbencher said: «I wouldn't be at all surprised if people will slip. They may well prefer not to vote than to vote against.»
The MP said that «I have heard of 30 or 40 people who are quite unhappy about the whole thing.»
MPs fear the proposed law will lead to more landlords leaving the market. Photo: Yui Mok/PA
However, a source close to the Whips Office denies that large numbers of MPs will be allowed to sit out, insisting the normal approach to avoidance has been adopted this week.
Critics of the legislation believe this is the case. part of a political agenda that alienates natural Tory supporters, contributing to last week's by-election losses in Tamworth and Mid-Bedfordshire.
One former minister planning to vote against the bill said the government was in a state of «daze.»
«We still have a majority of 60 and look at our legislative program,» they said.
“The Tenant Reform Bill could be introduced by Keir Starmer, it is a Labor Party bill. These are the worst of the left who think that if you regulate landlords you will improve the lives of renters, but you don't.
«It alienates our voters.»
They added: “Even if they achieve this, it will cause great damage to the authority of the government because MPs will lose heart.
“They think why am I trying to defend the difficult things that this government is doing when it is doing nothing at all?” stupid?”
With Labor promising not to block it, the tenant reform bill is likely to pass its second reading.
Manifesto commitment
On Saturday Angela Rayner, the shadow uplifting secretary, said: «Labour welcomes the long-awaited tenant reform bill will be given a second reading, but we will look to strengthen it to match the scale of the housing crisis the Conservative government has created.»
A government spokesman said: “The Tenant Reform Bill embodies our manifest commitment to creating a fairer private rental sector for both tenants and landlords.
“He will end no-fault evictions, giving people more security in their homes and challenging bad practices. It will also give landlords more protection from repossession of properties where tenants are behaving antisocially, and will also create a new ombudsman position to help resolve problems more quickly.
“We are pushing the bill through parliament at second reading, so We can create a private rented sector fit for the 21st century.”
The Center for Social Justice think tank, meanwhile, said fears of an exodus of landlords were overblown. Andy Cook, chief executive, said: “An independent assessment of the impact of this bill shows that the average net cost to landlords is minimal at £10 per rent.
“No-fault evictions were stopped in Scotland in 2017, and we didn't see the outcome. This change in law will protect approximately 11 million people from the threat of arbitrary eviction, provide them with greater security and reduce homelessness.»
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