Labour is facing pressure to deliver more radical reforms of private renting amid fears landlords will find new ways to evict tenants despite the party confirming it would end no-fault evictions, ban bidding wars and introduce time limits to fix potentially lethal mould.
In a campaign push aimed at the “rip-off private rented sector”, Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, and the shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, claimed private renters would be £250-a-year better off under a Labour government after it forces landlords to improve the energy efficiency of leaky rental homes.
But the party’s commitments to the UK’s 4.5 million renting households do not yet provide the security many renters want and they fear a back door to evictions could be left ajar. Demand continues to outstrip supply with 15 households vying for every private rented property, according to Zoopla – twice the rate before the pandemic.
“If this crisis is to be properly tackled we’ll need to see more detail as to how Labour intends to deliver security of tenure for private renters,” said Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition. “In particular, how will they prevent back doors to no-fault evictions through new eviction grounds and how they plan to tackle evictions through unaffordable rent hikes.”
