If this government fails to deliver before the election, the next one should get the job done and deliver greater security and protection for millions of people.

Ben Cooper (@BenCooper1995) is a senior researcher at the Fabian Society

Last year saw the highest number of Section 21 or ‘no-fault’ eviction notices served in England since 2017. These 30,000 court-ordered notices are just the tip of the iceberg. Many more evictions never make it near a judge and go unrecorded.

For nearly 5 years, the government has promised to ban Section 21 or ‘no-fault’ evictions. They have instead presided over rising tide of insecurity for the 4.6m households who rent privately. Too many people live in permanent fear that they will be evicted from their home at any point, forced to uproot their family and move away from their support networks.

It is now unlikely that no-fault evictions will be scrapped before the next election. It may be up to the next government to deliver what the Conservatives could not and give genuine protections and security to private rented sector tenants.

Abolishing Section 21 and no-fault evictions is crucial, but any future legislation should go beyond being a carbon copy of the current Renters (Reform) Bill. We need to fundamentally reshape the private rented sector, shifting power away from landlords and towards tenants.

The Fabian Society’s Commission on Poverty and Regional Inequality set out how protections for tenants in England could be extended as part of a strategy to raise living standards everywhere. The Commission recommended introducing periodic tenancies where landlords can only evict tenants for certain specific reasons, just as the Renters (Reform) Bill does.

However, any future legislation should prevent landlords from being able to evict tenants in order to sell or occupy the property for at least the first year of a tenancy – rather than just six months currently proposed. This will give tenants a year of stability free from any anxiety and cushion them from unwanted evictions caused by landlord actions. 

The notice period for evictions should also be extended from two months to four. Finding somewhere to rent is increasingly difficult, particularly for families with young children older people with fixed incomes, or disabled people. Indeed, being evicted and not finding a new place to live is one of the leading causes of homelessness in Britain. Four months of notice will give people greater breathing space to ensure they can find a new place and that the disruption of any move is minimised.

There should also be a permanent ban on winter evictions. At any time, evictions can be difficult for families. In winter they can be downright dangerous for health and wellbeing, especially for vulnerable people. Financial struggles and anxiety can intensify in winter months making housing protections even more critical. Such a ban would not be unique. England had one during the pandemic. France, Austria, parts of Belgium, and even parts of the United States have similar restrictions.

Finally, landlords should be required to make ‘relocation payments’ to tenants who are forced to move against their wishes. These payments would apply if a landlord wishes to sell the property or if they wish to move themselves or their family into it. But they would also apply if a landlord sought to increase rent by an excessive amount and the tenant decides not to pay the new rate, leaving the property as a result. The government would be able to define what is excessive, but the Commission suggested linking it to inflation, average wage increases or a fixed percentage. Under this proposal, landlords would be able to evict tenants in specific circumstances, but tenants will be compensated for the inconvenience and expense of a move. And crucially, it would deter landlords from using the grounds to evict in order to sell or move into the property, or excessive rent increases, as a way to kick tenants out unjustly.

This would amount to a much fairer deal for renters than the improvements contained in the current Renters (Reform) Bill. If this government fails to deliver before the election, the next one should get the job done and deliver greater security and protection for millions of people.

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