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Evictions ban deadline is ‘a ticking time bomb’, says Sadiq Khan
Sadiq Khan has branded the end of the government’s de facto eviction ban in four weeks “a ticking time bomb”.
The London mayor warned that many renters in the capital are facing imminent homelessness unless ministers act now to prevent them from losing their tenancies.
Pressure is mounting on the government to introduce measures for when the eviction moratorium ends on 25 June, in order to protect people struggling to pay their rent after losing income because of the coronavirus crisis.
But the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said Mr Khan’s comments were “simply wrong” and that it has introduced an “unprecedented package of support to ensure no tenant will be forced out of their home during the pandemic”.
In March, legislation was passed extending evictions notice periods from two months to three, while the courts suspended all possession hearings for 90 days.
Councils and charities have warned of a potential spike in evictions once the ban is lifted.
Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the government is working on a “pre-action protocol” that would require landlords to work with tenants to overcome rent arrears before starting eviction proceedings.
Labour has said the plan is “not enough”, while housing charity Shelter warned that the government’s promise to protect renters is at risk of becoming merely “words on a page”.
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Mr Khan said: “Many renters are just one pay cheque away from homelessness. It’s completely unacceptable that London renters should be facing a ticking time bomb where they could lose their home.
“The government took the required urgent action at the end of March to suspend eviction proceedings for 90 days, but has then wasted the window of opportunity this presented to shore up protections for private renters.
“Suggestions that landlords and their tenants agree ‘affordable repayment plans’ between themselves is totally unfair and unrealistic in many cases.
“Ministers still have an opportunity to steer us away from this cliff edge and avoid inflicting needless suffering on renters across the country, but they must act now.”
The mayor has previously called for “triple-lock” protection for renters, which would increase benefit levels to guarantee they cover rents, scrap Section 21 no-fault evictions and give judges powers to stop possession cases because of arrears caused by COVID-19.
Citizens Advice has also called on ministers to speed up plans – first announced in April 2019 – to scrap no-fault evictions and make Section 8 evictions discretionary in court where coronavirus is to blame for rent debts.
A spokesperson for MHCLG said: “This is simply wrong – we have put in place an unprecedented package of support to ensure no tenant will be forced out of their home during the pandemic and we have always said we will keep this under review.
“Our emergency legislation means landlords cannot evict tenants for three months, we are supporting businesses to continue paying their staff, as well as strengthening the welfare safety net with a nearly £7 billion boost to the welfare system and increasing Local Housing Allowance.
“We are carefully considering the next steps on how best to support both tenants and landlords to ensure fairness in the rental market.”
Mr Khan is rolling out training for council housing and trading standards teams for dealing with illegal evictions being carried out by rogue landlords despite the ban.
Advice charity Safer Renting will carry out the training, which will also cover rent-to-rent scams, sub-tenancies and harassment.
City Hall said it is also working with the Metropolitan Police to help officers respond better to illegal evictions calls.
Caitlin Wilkinson, policy manager at Generation Rent, said: “Despite the government’s ban on evictions, we’ve heard from renters experiencing harassment and threats from their landlords.
“Some are even coming home to find the locks have changed, in the middle of the pandemic.
“Too often, police officers are unaware that this behaviour is illegal. It is essential that police officers receive the training necessary to keep renters safe in their homes.”
Nearly a third of Londoners live in private rented housing.
Update: at 17.00pm, 28/05/20 the story was updated to include comments from MHCLG.
