RENTERS REFORM BILL
This is what is happening with the Renters Reform Bill, and why you should be angry about it
Last week the Renters Reform Bill resurfaced in parliament after The Big Issue’s End Housing Insecurity Now campaign called on the government to act on their promise to protect renters.
The return to the Commons should have been a sign of much-needed progress to help renters. Instead, tenants across England were hit with a hammer blow. The government confirmed it will not scrap no-fault evictions, also known as Section 21 evictions, until courts have been reformed, but neglected to give a timeframe for that, effectively delaying it indefinitely.
Michael Gove’s last-minute change sparked anger. The Renters Reform Coalition called the move a “pathetic last-minute concession to keep the Conservative Party together”. Labour accused the government of securing “grubby deals” with Tory dissenters.
Why does the government say the courts need to be reformed?
Landlords who have issued a Section 21 eviction notice to tenants must go through the courts to get a possession order and a warrant for eviction before a tenant is evicted by court bailiffs.
Tenants may also choose to challenge the eviction in court if they feel it is invalid. The government has always promised to “digitise” the courts system as part of the Renters Reform Bill, although there has been little detail on how this is going to be achieved.
Until now, there has been no indication that this would mean a delay to scrapping no-fault evictions. Gove said the need to update the courts is
