Renters’ reform must close loopholes for unfair evictions, campaigners say

theguardian.com:

Tenants and campaigners have warned Michael Gove not to create a “back door” for unfair evictions as private rented sector reforms are unveiled on Wednesday.

The legal overhaul will ban no-fault evictions but strengthen landlords’ rights to throw tenants out for antisocial behaviour.

The secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities will announce the renters’ reform bill affecting 11 million private renters in England.

“Too many renters are living in damp, unsafe, cold homes, powerless to put things right and with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them,” he will say.

But after lobbying from landlords, he will also “strengthen powers to evict antisocial tenants, broadening the disruptive and harmful activities that can lead to eviction and making it quicker to evict a tenant acting antisocially”, his department said.

It could mean renters being given a two-week notice period for antisocial behaviour evictions and that any behaviour “capable” of “causing nuisance or annoyance” could trigger eviction.

The bill will not, however, limit the frequency with which landlords can hike rents or rent caps. It is expected to outlaw extreme rent increases targeted at pushing tenants out. This will be policed by a new ombudsman for private rented housing and the courts.

It comes four years after the government first promised to ban the 1988 no-fault eviction law, which has had a chilling effect on tenants’ confidence to challenge non-decent homes, of which there are estimated to be 1m in England.

Since that promise was made by Theresa May and repeated in Boris Johnson’s December 2019 Conservative election manifesto, more than 54,000 households in the private rented sector in England have been threatened with a no-fault