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Truss confirms ‘no-fault’ evictions for private tenants will be scrapped
Prime minister Liz Truss has signalled that she will honour a manifesto pledge to ban no-fault evictions for private renters.
On Tuesday, the government did not deny reports that it was shelving plans to scrap Section 21 notices, saying only that everyone “deserves to live in a safe and secure home”.
But asked at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions whether she could reassure private renters that the ban would go ahead, Ms Truss responded: “I can.”
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Earlier this week, The Times reported that in a letter to the prime minister, housing secretary Simon Clarke said the ban could be delayed or even scrapped entirely.
The letter said no-fault evictions were not considered a “priority”, instead putting forward a series of other measures and policies to boost housebuilding and fuel economic growth.
The apparent U-turn on no-fault evictions was widely condemned by housing charities. Shelter said it would “pour fuel on the housing emergency and make thousands homeless”.
At PMQs, Labour MP Graham Stringer said: “Spooking the markets and increasing the cost of borrowing and increasing the cost of mortgages was almost certainly an act of gross incompetence rather than malevolence.
“But going back on the commitment to end no-fault evictions is an act of extreme callousness. Can the prime minister reassure the 11 million private renters in this country that she will carry out her commitment to get rid of no-fault evictions?”
Ms Truss replied that she could, but did not offer any further detail.
In May, the Queen’s Speech confirmed that no-fault evictions would be abolished in a new Renters Reform Bill.
According to recent government figures, nearly 20,000 households in England were made homeless this way in 2021-22, up from almost 9,000 the previous financial year.
