Labour has confirmed plans to ban non-fault evictions and introduce other measures to benefit renters if it wins in the general election.
Deputy party leader Angela Rayner sought to woo renters, saying they will be “better off” with Labour, which will ”put renters first.”
Apart from an “immediate” ban on no-fault evictions, the plan also includes “an end to rental bidding wars,” legal protections for tenants when the accommodation is damp, mouldy, or cold, and building 1.5 million homes in the next five years on the so-called grey belt, which Labour describes as poor quality land, car parks, and wasteland.
The party has also said it will aim to cut energy bills and reduce fuel poverty by requiring all landlords to meet energy efficiency standards by 2030.
The pledge came after a planned ban on no-fault evictions was delayed in May when MPs passed the Renters Reform Bill.
Under current rules, landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a Section 21 notice.
Such notices, known as no-fault evictions, were due to be banned under the Renters Reform Bill but campaigners have criticised the government for watering down the strength of the legislation by adding an amendment that the courts must be deemed ready before the ban comes into force.
Between January and March this year, there were a total of 2,682 such evictions across England, the highest number since the first quarter in 2018, when 2,791 such court repossessions occurred, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice.
The number also represents a 19 percent increase on the first quarter in 2023, and a 157 percent jump from the first quarter in 2022.
The plan for a ban was first announced in 2019 by then-Prime Minister Theresa May who said no-fault evictions are “unfair ” and have allowed responsible tenants to be “uprooted by their landlord with little notice, and often little justification.”
But the delay has prompted accusations that ministers have abandoned renters and conceded to “pro-landlord” Conservative MPs.
The bill has been sent to the House of Lords before Parliament was dissolved ahead of the general election on July 4.
Announcing the plans, Ms. Rayner, who is also Labour’s shadow housing secretary, said the Tories have “failed to stand up for renters” and “working people,” adding that Labour will “call time on a decade of Tory vested interest and put renters first.”
“An affordable, secure private rented sector is vital for economic growth, allowing young people to save for a mortgage with more money in their pockets to spend in the day-to-day economy. Our plans will support good landlords but we are calling time on unscrupulous landlords strangling growth,” she said.
“Renters will be better off with Labour,” Ms. Rayner added.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer was forced on Thursday to deny that the party would “flatten” the green belt to build homes following a reported remark from an unnamed party official.
After Politico’s London Playbook quoted the alleged official as saying, “I don’t care if we flatten the whole green belt, we just need more houses in this country,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted the quote to social media platform X with the caption, “Good to finally get Labour’s real views on Britain’s green belt.”
At a visit to a housing development in York, the Labour leader told journalists: “No, that wasn’t Labour Party officials. That wasn’t Labour Party policy.
“What we will do is we will build the one-and-a-half million houses that we need over the next five years on projects like this, with the facilities they need, because what you need here is the schools and the GPs and the facilities that are needed for housing.
“We will get on and do the building we need to do, but we’d of course protect the countryside, as you’d expect.”
Reacting to Labour’s pledge, campaign group Renters’ Reform Coalition said it welcomes the “important commitments,” but will need to see more details on how the policy will work.
“No fault evictions must be abolished in full, with no loopholes,” the group wrote on X.
