Tory landlord MPs urged to reveal themselves as 'no-fault' evictions ban delayed indefinitely

There is growing anger over the Tories dragging their feet when it comes to the long-promised banning of no-fault evictions ITV News Correspondent Ellie Pitt reports

A ban on no-fault evictions has been delayed indefinitely, with the government saying the court system needs reforming before legislation for renters can be brought in.

But questions have been raised as to why a number of Conservative MPs voiced their opposition to the Renters' Reform Bill, saying it would add “to the burden of landlords”.

The legislation was mainly aimed at outlawing section 21 evictions, which allows landlords to get a court order to remove a tenant from their property without needing a reason.

But a fifth of the Conservative parliamentary Party are landlords, according to the Liberal Democrats, and it has been reported the government decided to delay the legislation over fears of a rebellion.

The LibDems said the 68 Conservative landlord MPs must reveal if they have ever used a section 21 notice to evict tenants in order to provide "greater transparency" over their opposition to the ban.

ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton explains why the Conservatives may have to back down on the no-fault evictions ban

It comes after Housing Secretary Michael Gove wrote to Tory backbenchers to say the ban on “no-fault” section 21 evictions promised as part of the legislation will not be enacted before a series of improvements are made in the legal system.

In the Commons, Conservative former minister Sir Edward Leigh told MPs: “Banning no-fault evictions will make the rental market even more stagnant and will lead to a further drying up of it.”

He added: “And apart from adding to the burden of landlords, we don’t want a situation that happened in Ireland, where the regulatory burdens on landlords is such that the rental sector has shrunk massively and governments have paid the price in terms of popularity.”

Conservative MP Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) said the Bill would have a “disastrous effect” on areas including his constituency “in reducing the number of rental properties, and therefore increasing the price of rent, and for youngsters this is really serious”.

Calder Valley MP Craig Whittaker said the government seemed “to be tarring every landlord with the same brush” with the Bill.

He added: “This Bill, without pinching the TV headline, is not what it says on the tin. It should be renamed the rogue landlord and nightmare tenants bill, because all it does is force good landlords to take action that they wouldn’t normally take.”

Homelessness charity Shelter says 172 families are served a section 21 notice every day, while the Liberal Democrats says "nearly 50,000 households have been put at risk of homelessness due to them" since plans for a ban were announced in 2019.

Liberal Democrat Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson, Helen Morgan MP said it was important for the public to know the "true motivations" of those who oppose the ban.

She said: “It is not right that those thwarting this legislation do not have to make clear why they have such a keen personal interest in stopping it becoming law. 

“Any MP who has ever used a section 21 notice needs to make that clear to the House and to the public. It would frankly be insulting to all those affected by the delay of this important piece of legislation to not know the true motivations of why so many Conservative MPs oppose the ban.”

In a letter to Tory MPs, Mr Gove said the government will “reform the courts before we abolish section 21”.

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He said that “implementation of the new system will not take place until we judge sufficient progress has been made to improve the courts”.

But other Conservatives supported the Bill, with Dover MP Natalie Elphicke saying it would be a “grave mistake” to abandon the promise to end no-fault evictions, as listed in the Tories’ 2019 election manifesto.

Shadow housing secretary Angela Rayner said the Bill was “better late than never”, following a series of delays to its passage through Parliament.

She said her party would not oppose the Bill at second reading, adding: “Which may be more than can be said from the benches behind (Mr Gove). After nearly five years of foot dragging it appears they need to be appeased with yet more delays. We disagree with that.

“Renters are at the sharp edge of the current housing crisis and urgently need the protections and support in this Bill.”

"If you're facing a no-fault eviction or want to get in touch with us about any issues with your housing, please email our team at housingstories@itv.com