UK
‘They can just kick you out’—the scandal of no-fault evictionsLabour’s Renters Rights Bill would ban Section 21 fault evictions. But a low-paid worker facing one says it needs to go further
Will Labour’s Renters Reform Bill solve a housing crisis caused by landlords?
By Arthur Townend
Saturday 14 September 2024
SOCIALST WORKER Issue
Bar worker Josh has lived in the same house in east London for six years. But “now the landlord fancies upping the rent”—so he and his three flatmates are being evicted.
Josh is one of the thousands of victims of Section 21 “no fault” evictions, which a new Renters Reform Bill could ban.
“They didn’t give us a specific reason,” he told Socialist Worker. “Section 21 means they can just kick us out. When it’s an urgent situation, when you have two months to find a house, it’s a very difficult and stressful situation.
“People are working so they have barely any time where they can actually look for a house and go through the application process.”
Josh says an end to no-fault evictions would be a real step forward. Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, landlords can evict tenants—without any reason—at a two month notice period.
Last year alone, some 26,000 households faced homelessness due to no-fault evictions.
The Renters’ Reform Bill, which Labour introduced into the House of Commons on Wednesday, would introduce some more protections for private renters.
A Section 21 ban—which would be implemented by next summer—would require landlords to give a sufficient reason for eviction and four months’ notice.
The Bill would set deadlines for landlords to tackle dangerous conditions in their rental properties and potentially fine them.
It’s also expected to allow tenants to end rental agreements with just two months’ notice from the first day they move in. And it would abolish blanket bans on renting to people with children or benefit claimants.
But housing campaigners say it needs to go much further. The proposed Bill does not give any support to those facing eviction.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said, “Renters risk being left with no financial support to find a new home in difficult circumstances. The government must take action to soften this blow.”
Josh described the “ridiculous” task of trying to find a new place to live in a short space of time. “The process of applying for housing is ridiculous—you don’t get any information from landlords or the letting agencies,” he said.
“There are just loads of forms and credit checks—and that’s before you even view the house and know it’s suitable for your needs. This makes it so hard to find a house before you actually get evicted.
“And that’s before it gets down to it being affordable and suitable.”
Labour’s housing plan will not solve the crisis
Labour’s bill fails to address the critical issue facing private renters—escalating prices. Twomey said, “The Bill will ban scheduled unaffordable rent increases being written into contracts, but we remain vulnerable to backdoor rent-hike evictions.
“If landlords are allowed to continue with unchecked and unaffordable rent rises, thousands more of us will still be forced into poverty and onto the streets.”
The Bill would only allow landlords to raise rents once a year—and only to the “market rate”. But landlords often set that “market rate” themselves and, with no further controls, the measure does nothing to address spiralling rent prices.
Josh said, “People can’t afford housing—that’s the long and the short of it. Families are getting priced out of London because they can’t afford to live there. Our landlord has upped the rent while we’ve been here—but even then, we’re nowhere near finding a new house for the same price.”
If Labour was serious about helping renters, it would impose rent controls and start a mass council house building programme. “Would rent controls be a start? Yes, but they wouldn’t be enough at all,” Josh said.
“We need a complete roll back of prices. Housing right now isn’t affordable, so a cap on something already unaffordable is just simply not enough.
“Housing needs to be taken out of the private sector—it shouldn’t be down to individuals. The fact that people can get evicted because the landlord wants to make more money from a property they don’t need is absolutely disgusting.
“Housing is a social need, so it should be treated as such—there must be a mass redistribution of homes.”
But Labour doesn’t want to do that. And it’s no wonder—when three of the five biggest landlords in the Commons are Labour MPs. It will take a fight under the Labour government to win homes for all.
Josh is one of the thousands of victims of Section 21 “no fault” evictions, which a new Renters Reform Bill could ban.
“They didn’t give us a specific reason,” he told Socialist Worker. “Section 21 means they can just kick us out. When it’s an urgent situation, when you have two months to find a house, it’s a very difficult and stressful situation.
“People are working so they have barely any time where they can actually look for a house and go through the application process.”
Josh says an end to no-fault evictions would be a real step forward. Under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988, landlords can evict tenants—without any reason—at a two month notice period.
Last year alone, some 26,000 households faced homelessness due to no-fault evictions.
The Renters’ Reform Bill, which Labour introduced into the House of Commons on Wednesday, would introduce some more protections for private renters.
A Section 21 ban—which would be implemented by next summer—would require landlords to give a sufficient reason for eviction and four months’ notice.
The Bill would set deadlines for landlords to tackle dangerous conditions in their rental properties and potentially fine them.
It’s also expected to allow tenants to end rental agreements with just two months’ notice from the first day they move in. And it would abolish blanket bans on renting to people with children or benefit claimants.
But housing campaigners say it needs to go much further. The proposed Bill does not give any support to those facing eviction.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said, “Renters risk being left with no financial support to find a new home in difficult circumstances. The government must take action to soften this blow.”
Josh described the “ridiculous” task of trying to find a new place to live in a short space of time. “The process of applying for housing is ridiculous—you don’t get any information from landlords or the letting agencies,” he said.
“There are just loads of forms and credit checks—and that’s before you even view the house and know it’s suitable for your needs. This makes it so hard to find a house before you actually get evicted.
“And that’s before it gets down to it being affordable and suitable.”
Labour’s housing plan will not solve the crisis
Labour’s bill fails to address the critical issue facing private renters—escalating prices. Twomey said, “The Bill will ban scheduled unaffordable rent increases being written into contracts, but we remain vulnerable to backdoor rent-hike evictions.
“If landlords are allowed to continue with unchecked and unaffordable rent rises, thousands more of us will still be forced into poverty and onto the streets.”
The Bill would only allow landlords to raise rents once a year—and only to the “market rate”. But landlords often set that “market rate” themselves and, with no further controls, the measure does nothing to address spiralling rent prices.
Josh said, “People can’t afford housing—that’s the long and the short of it. Families are getting priced out of London because they can’t afford to live there. Our landlord has upped the rent while we’ve been here—but even then, we’re nowhere near finding a new house for the same price.”
If Labour was serious about helping renters, it would impose rent controls and start a mass council house building programme. “Would rent controls be a start? Yes, but they wouldn’t be enough at all,” Josh said.
“We need a complete roll back of prices. Housing right now isn’t affordable, so a cap on something already unaffordable is just simply not enough.
“Housing needs to be taken out of the private sector—it shouldn’t be down to individuals. The fact that people can get evicted because the landlord wants to make more money from a property they don’t need is absolutely disgusting.
“Housing is a social need, so it should be treated as such—there must be a mass redistribution of homes.”
But Labour doesn’t want to do that. And it’s no wonder—when three of the five biggest landlords in the Commons are Labour MPs. It will take a fight under the Labour government to win homes for all.
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