Labour acts to end no-fault evictions within months

Landlords will soon be banned from evicting tenants without cause, as ministers prepare to launch a long-delayed package of measures for renters to stop no-fault evictions within months.

- Kiran Stacey

Ministers will bring the renters' rights bill for its first reading in front of MPs next week, sources have told the Guardian, as they aim to rush through important elements of their housing changes.

At the heart of the bill, according to several people with knowledge of its contents, will be an immediate end to so-called section 21 evictions, where a landlord can oust a tenant for no reason, to be brought into force as soon as the bill is granted royal assent.

It will also include other protections such as making landlords give more notice before they evict a tenant and preventing landlords from inciting bidding wars by encouraging prospective tenants to bid more than the listed rental price.

Ministers will seek to enact Awaab's law, which forces landlords or agents to carry out crucial repairs within a specified period of time, with the exact period likely to be decided after a consultation.

The bill is a major victory for renters' rights campaigners, who have warned for years that the lack of tenant protections in the UK has exacerbated the housing crisis and added to the financial instability of millions of renters.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing said: "The renters' rights bill will be introduced in due course and we have committed to engaging with the sector throughout the process.