Mayor urges Authorities to not delay Renters Reform Invoice as nearly 300 London renters face no-fault evictions every week  

Forward of the second studying of the Renters (Reform) Invoice as we speak, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has warned that the Authorities’s delay in banning Part 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions has already taken a devastating toll on many Londoners, and that hundreds extra are vulnerable to changing into homeless if the Invoice is delayed additional into subsequent yr.

New Metropolis Corridor evaluation reveals that 290 London renters every week have confronted no-fault evictions because the Authorities’s pledge to strip landlords of the ability to evict tenants with out purpose 4 years in the past (often known as a ‘Part 21’ evictions given their authorized foundation within the 1988 Housing Act).

Beneath present laws, landlords in England can problem a Part 21 discover in the event that they wish to take possession of their property from its present tenants. Landlords should not have to offer a purpose for the eviction and solely have to offer two months’ discover.

Ministers promised to scrap this methodology of evictions again in 2019 to offer renters extra safety, and this yr the Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove, launched the long-awaited Renters Reform Invoice to Parliament which, if handed, would ban no-fault evictions for good.

Nonetheless, this four-year delay has had a detrimental influence on London renters, the place the usage of no-fault evictions is especially excessive. Metropolis Corridor evaluation exhibits that since 2019, a 3rd of all no-fault evictions in England happened within the capital, up 70 per cent within the final yr. This evaluation relies on the variety of Part 21 notices which were adopted up with a possession declare. The true scale of the issue may very well be far worse as not all Part 21 notices will essentially attain this stage. An additional delay of six months to the passing of the Invoice into legislation would imply 15,000 extra Londoners danger going through no-fault eviction.

With homelessness within the capital already on the rise, Sadiq is urging Ministers urgently to strengthen and go the Renters Reform Invoice to stop extra London renters from being kicked out of their houses with out good purpose. Particularly, he’s calling on the Authorities to shut any loopholes that might nonetheless allow landlords to unfairly evict tenants as soon as Part 21 is eliminated. Sadiq can be calling on the Authorities to increase the discover interval when tenants are evicted for no fault of their very own – similar to the place the owner needs to maneuver into the property – from two months to 4, to permit renters enough time to hunt recommendation and plan for an surprising transfer, and to stop homelessness.

Within the meantime, the Mayor is doing all he can to again London renters and push for higher protections towards rogue landlords. This contains his flagship Rogue Landlord and Agent Checker, Property Licence Checker and Report a Rogue Landlord instrument, in addition to guaranteeing that Met cops function on a presumption towards evicting tenants when they’re known as out to landlord-tenant eviction disputes.

Sadiq has additionally known as on the Authorities to urgently introduce a two-year hire freeze to ease the burden of the cost-of-living disaster, saving London renters on common £3,374 over two years, and to ship the £4.9bn a yr that’s wanted to construct extra genuinely reasonably priced houses throughout the capital.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, mentioned: “This new evaluation is deeply regarding. For too lengthy, landlords have been in a position to benefit from exploitative no-fault evictions, which depart renters weak, just because the Authorities refuses to behave.

“It’s inexcusable that 4 years after the Authorities vowed to ban no-fault evictions, so little progress has been made. Ministers should act swiftly to strengthen and go the Renters Reform Invoice to make sure that renters get the authorized protections they desperately want and deserve.”

Ben Twomey, Chief Govt of Technology Lease, mentioned: “Part 21 no-fault evictions have induced distress for thousands and thousands of renters since they had been launched 35 years in the past. They rip households aside; they pressure individuals to maneuver away from their work and mates and are a number one reason behind homelessness in our nation.

“The figures launched as we speak by the Mayor’s Workplace are a surprising reminder of the size of the distress attributable to these evictions, with 290 renters every week going through a no-fault eviction in London. The federal government must act now to abolish no-fault evictions with a view to give renters higher safety. We totally assist the Mayor’s efforts to spotlight this problem and can proceed to work carefully with all organisations in London which can be combating for renters’ rights.”