The government has been accused of “betraying renters” on the fifth anniversary of a “failed” promise to ban no-fault evictions – as figures suggest that over 80,000 households have been put at risk of homelessness since then.
Former Conservative prime minister Theresa May made the pledge to scrap Section 21 (S21) notices on 15 April 2019 and it was also in her successor Boris Johnson’s manifesto.
A Section 21 order allows landlords to evict tenants with just two months’ notice, without providing a reason for doing so.
Housing campaigners say they are a major contributing factor to rising homelessness.
Analysis of government data by the Renters’ Reform Coalition (RRC) has found that since the promise to ban S21s was made, at least 84,460 private renting households have claimed homeless prevention support after being issued with the notice.
Campaigners believe the true number of “no-fault” evictions served will be much higher, as the data only captures those who claimed council support.
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Tom Darling, campaign manager at the RRC, said: “It is absurd that the government has now officially taken five years to deliver these basic reforms – that’s longer than Brexit took.”
He said S21s “have led to real human suffering and damage” and there could be “millions of other renters who have been evicted but haven’t ended up calling their local authority”.
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‘Revenge eviction’
Tom Cliffe, 34 was issued with a Section 21 last July after complaining for 18 months about disrepair to his property in Ealing, west London, where he was paying £1,000 a month in rent and bills.
He believes it was a “revenge eviction” as his four other housemates were not served the notice – and he was not given a reason as to why he received one.
Image: Tom Cliffe was served a no-fault eviction after complaining about disrepair
Tom, who works in the film industry, spent months and “upwards of £2,000” trying to fight the eviction, but has given up as “everything was weighted in the landlord’s favour”.
“It’s been a huge, huge turmoil,” he told Sky News.
“I have made a home here for six years. I have taken so much care to treat the property well, I have always paid my rent on time.
“To be turfed out by your landlord on a whim when you’re in your 30s and it’s so hard to buy, it’s really upsetting.”
“It all just feels a bit corrupt. The fact that so many MPs are landlords, it seems fairly obvious that this is influencing the [S21] delays,” Tom said.
Gove ‘sold renters down the river’
Housing Secretary Michael Gove pledged to ban S21s through the long-delayed Renters Reform Bill, which was introduced to parliament in May and seen as a “once-in-a-generation” shakeup of renters’ rights.
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‘No one should face eviction for speaking out’
But last month he was accused of “selling renters down the river” and conceding to the landlord lobby after it was announced that the power to issue them would remain in place until an assessment had been made to see if courts could handle the change.
Some MPs had warned getting rid of no-fault evictions will increase pressure on the courts, as landlords will need to go through a legal process to regain possession of their properties when they have legitimate grounds to do so.
Other changes to the bill included an amendment to prevent tenants ending contracts in a tenancy’s first six months. Originally the bill proposed allowing renters to end a tenancy with two months’ notice at any point.
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‘I was evicted and I became homeless’
Campaigners have warned this will trap renters in unsafe and falsely advertised tenancies, benefitting “rogue landlords” – as well as risking harm to victims of domestic violence.
The RRC wants to see the bill strengthened to include an increase in eviction notice periods from two to four months, to give renters enough time to find a suitable place to live.
They also want a protected period of at least two years during which renters cannot be evicted under the new no-fault grounds and a limit on rent increases within a tenancy, to stop landlords using rent hikes as a de-facto no-fault eviction.
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Labour accused the government of an “utter betrayal of renters across Britain”.
Shadow housing secretary and deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Hundreds of thousands of people have been put at risk of homelessness since that hollow promise five years ago. There are kids now in school that weren’t even born when the Tories first promised this.
“Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives always choose party before country, it is in their DNA. Only Labour will immediately ban no-fault evictions, no ifs no buts.”
A Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities spokesperson said: “We are committed to delivering our landmark Renters (Reform) Bill that will provide a fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords.
“The bill will abolish section 21 evictions – giving people more security in their homes and empowering them to challenge poor practices.”
The chancellor has confirmed she is considering “changes” to ISAs – and said there has been too much focus on “risk” in members of the public investing.
In her second annual Mansion House speech to the financial sector, Rachel Reeves said she recognised “differing views” over the popular tax-free savings accounts, in which savers can currently put up to £20,000 a year.
She was reportedly considering reducing the threshold to as low as £4,000 a year, in a bid to encourage people to put money into stocks and shares instead and boost the economy.
However the chancellor has shelved any immediate planned changes after fierce backlash from building societies and consumer groups.
In her speech to key industry figures on Tuesday evening, Ms Reeves said: “I will continue to consider further changes to ISAs, engaging widely over the coming months and recognising that despite the differing views on the right approach, we are united in wanting better outcomes for both savers and for the UK economy.”
She added: “For too long, we have presented investment in too negative a light, quick to warn people of the risks, without giving proper weight to the benefits.”
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Rachel Reeves’s fiscal dilemma
Ms Reeves’s speech, the first major one since the welfare bill climbdown two weeks ago, appeared to encourage regulators to focus less on risks and more on the benefits of investing in things like the stock market and government bonds (loans issued by states to raise funds with an interest rate paid in return).
She welcomed action by the financial regulator to review risk warning rules and the campaign to promote retail investment, which the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is launching next year.
“Our tangled system of financial advice and guidance has meant that people cannot get the right support to make decisions for themselves”, Ms Reeves told the event in London.
Last year, Ms Reeves said post-financial crash regulation had “gone too far” and set a course for cutting red tape.
On Tuesday, she said she would announce a package of City changes, including a new competitive framework for a part of the insurance industry and a regulatory regime for asset management.
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Reeves is ‘totally’ up for the job
In response to Ms Reeves’s address, shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride said: “Rachel Reeves should have used her speech this evening to rule out massive tax rises on businesses and working people. The fact that she didn’t should send a shiver down the spine of taxpayers across the country.”
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The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, also spoke at the Mansion House event and said Donald Trump’s taxes on US imports would slow the economy and trade imbalances should be addressed.
“Increasing tariffs creates the risk of fragmenting the world economy, and thereby reducing activity”, he said.
The taxpayer is to help drive the switch to non-polluting vehicles through a new grant of up to £3,750, but some of the cheapest electric cars are to be excluded.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said a £650m fund was being made available for the Electric Car Grant, which is due to get into gear from Wednesday.
Users of the scheme – the first of its kind since the last Conservative government scrapped grants for new electric vehicles three years ago – will be able to secure discounts based on the “sustainability” of the car.
It will apply only to vehicles with a list price of £37,000 or below – with only the greenest models eligible for the highest grant.
Buyers of so-called ‘Band two’ vehicles can receive up to £1,500.
The qualification criteria includes a recognition of a vehicle’s carbon footprint from manufacture to showroom so UK-produced EVs, costing less than £37,000, would be expected to qualify for the top grant.
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It is understood that Chinese-produced EVs – often the cheapest in the market – would not.
Image: BYD electric vehicles before being loaded onto a ship in Lianyungang, China. Pic: Reuters
DfT said 33 new electric car models were currently available for less than £30,000.
The government has been encouraged to act as sales of new electric vehicles are struggling to keep pace with what is needed to meet emissions targets.
Challenges include the high prices for electric cars when compared to conventionally powered models.
At the same time, consumer and business budgets have been squeezed since the 2022 cost of living crisis – and households and businesses are continuing to feel the pinch to this day.
Another key concern is the state of the public charging network.
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The Chinese electric car rivalling Tesla
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “This EV grant will not only allow people to keep more of their hard-earned money – it’ll help our automotive sector seize one of the biggest opportunities of the 21st century.
“And with over 82,000 public charge points now available across the UK, we’ve built the infrastructure families need to make the switch with confidence.”
The Government has pledged to ban the sale of new fully petrol or diesel cars and vans from 2030 but has allowed non-plug in hybrid sales to continue until 2025.
It is hoped the grants will enable the industry to meet and even exceed the current zero emission vehicle mandate.
Under the rules, at least 28% of new cars sold by each manufacturer in the UK this year must be zero emission.
The figure stood at 21.6% during the first half of the year.
The car industry has long complained that it has had to foot a multi-billion pound bill to woo buyers for electric cars through “unsustainable” discounting.
Mike Hawes, chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said the grants sent a “clear signal to consumers that now is the time to switch”.
He went on: “Rapid deployment and availability of this grant over the next few years will help provide the momentum that is essential to take the EV market from just one in four today, to four in five by the end of the decade.”
But the Conservatives questioned whether taxpayers should be footing the bill.
Shadow transport secretary Gareth Bacon said: “Last week, the Office for Budget Responsibility made clear the transition to EVs comes at a cost, and this scheme only adds to it.
“Make no mistake: more tax rises are coming in the autumn.”
A leading financier and Conservative Party donor is among the contenders vying to chair Channel 4, the state-owned broadcaster.
Sky News has learnt from Whitehall sources that Wol Kolade has been shortlisted to replace Sir Ian Cheshire at the helm of the company.
Mr Kolade, who has donated hundreds of thousands of pounds to Tory coffers, is said by Whitehall insiders to be one of a handful of remaining candidates for the role.
A recommendation from Ofcom, the media regulator, to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy about its recommendation for the Channel 4 chairmanship is understood to be imminent.
Mr Kolade, who heads the private equity firm Livingbridge, has held non-executive roles including a seat on the board of NHS Improvement.
He declined to comment when contacted by Sky News on Monday.
His candidacy pits him against rivals including Justin King, the former J Sainsbury chief executive, who last week stepped down as chairman of Ovo Energy.
Debbie Wosskow, an existing Channel 4 non-executive director who has applied for the chair role, is also said by government sources to have made it to the shortlist.
Sir Ian stepped down earlier this year after just one term, having presided over a successful attempt to thwart privatisation by the last Tory government.
The Channel 4 chairmanship is currently held on an interim basis by Dawn Airey, the media industry executive who has occupied top jobs at companies including ITV, Channel 5, and Yahoo!.
The race to lead the state-owned broadcaster’s board has acquired additional importance since the resignation of Alex Mahon, its long-serving chief executive.
It has since been reported that Alex Burford, another Channel 4 non-executive director and the boss of Warner Records UK, was interested in replacing Ms Mahon.
Ms Mahon, who was a vocal opponent of Channel 4’s privatisation, is leaving to join Superstruct, a private equity-owned live entertainment company.
The appointment of a new chair is expected to take place by the autumn, with the chosen candidate expected to lead the recruitment of Ms Mahon’s successor.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport declined to comment on the recruitment process.