Michael Gove, the housing secretary, faced criticism when he introduced the tenant reform bill in the House of Commons on Monday. Photo: Pat Skaasi | MI News
Michael Gove brushed off mockers that a ban on no-fault evictions was “unconservative” and announced that the move was being delayed.
The Housing Secretary said the reforms contained in in Boris Johnson's 2019 election-winning manifesto, will be postponed indefinitely until the courts are reformed.
This means that the Section 21 ban “Evictions will not take place until a number of improvements are made to the legal system. However, no timeline has been set.
The announcement of the delay came after a number of Conservative Tories threatened to vote against the ban, saying they would drive landlords out of the market rather than face lengthy legal battles over the ban. get rid of unruly tenants.
The Housing Secretary faced criticism when he introduced the Tenants Reform Bill in the Commons on Monday.
He said: “Getting rid of section 21 means the guns used by unscrupulous landlords can no longer be in their hands. . Section 21 no-fault evictions are used by this small minority of bad landlords, primarily to intimidate tenants.
“This is a case where a significant number of tenants are concerned about the quality of their home or even excessive rent increases, but section 21 has been used to silence those who have complained about the quality of their properties, to intimidate them into silence. accept excessive rent increases.
“It is in no one’s interest to allow unscrupulous landlords to continue to behave this way, to allow vulnerable people to lose their right to vote in this way, and to force taxpayers to pick up the bill. The idea that repealing Article 21 is something unconservative…”
'This is unconservative'
At this point, Mr Gove was criticized by Sir Edward Lee , a former Tory minister who shouted: “This is unconservative.”
Mr Gove continued: “It makes absolutely no sense to me. Conservatives exist to protect the vulnerable, keep markets working and save taxpayers money.”
Marcus Fish, another Conservative MP, said the bill was “catastrophic for every renter in the country who wants to see a well-stocked housing market.” He said it would “keep private landlords out of the market.” ”, saying: “And does this now conflict with the government’s main goal of reducing inflation?”
“Private rents are the main reason for rising inflation.” Core inflation. And this is a disaster for every renter in the country who wants to see a well-stocked housing market.”
Mr Gove said: “This is not true… in fact we have seen an increase in the number of homes in the private rented sector in recent times, we have not seen a decline.”
He added: “There is no evidence that repealing section 21 and at the same time strengthening section 8 will result in any reduction in the number of homes in the private rented sector. What we need is more houses in general.”
“Dirty deal”
Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the Labor Party, accused the government of “betraying” tenants by cutting a “dirty deal” to win the support of Conservative MPs.
Late last week, Mr Gove wrote to Tory MPs promising to “reform the courts before we scrap Article 21”.
He said that “implementation the new system will not take place until we decide that sufficient progress has been made in improving the courts.”
Among the changes that are “currently frustrating for court proceedings” they will digitize more of the court process, make it easier for landlords, and also look at the prioritization of cases, including cases involving anti-social behavior.
There were also Improved retention and recruitment of bailiffs and provision of early legal advice to tenants are mentioned.
Downing Street was unable to say when the ban on no-fault evictions would be introduced.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: “It is right that the courts are ready for the most significant reforms to tenancy law yet.” in three decades.
“I think we said from the beginning that implementation would be phased, and I don't know exactly if there was a time frame for that.”
The move was welcomed Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association.
He said: “Reform of the rental market will only work if it is trusted by responsible landlords as much as it is trusted by tenants . This is particularly important given the rental housing supply crisis that tenants are currently facing.
“Following extensive campaigning by the NRLA, we welcome the approach ministers have taken to ensure the courts are improved before the section ends 21.”
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Tom Darling, campaign director for the Tenants Reform Coalition, which represents 20 charities, said the “absurd” move would have “terrible human consequences.”
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