Why did Gove's promise to end no-fault evictions stall?

Conservatives pledged in the 2019 manifesto to abolish Section 21 notices, which allow landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason. No-fault eviction, as it is called, has been one of the biggest complaints of tenants, and the abolition of Section 21 notices has long been a central demand of tenant and homelessness campaign groups such as Shelter.

- MARY DEJEVSKY

Now, almost five years after the first promise was given, and almost a year since the Renters (Reform) Bill was tabled, the commitment seems no closer to being honoured. The bill is now going through its report stage and third reading in the Commons before returning to the House of Lords, but the key sections are expected to be watered down or subject to delay.

Michael Gove, the housing secretary, also seems to be wavering. In a television interview in February, he insisted Section 21 orders would be abolished by the next election. On the eve of the bill’s third reading, he seemed less certain, saying to the BBC: “Everything depends on the House of Lords. My determination is to ensure that we get this bill on the statute book. But it’s up to the Lords to decide the rate of progress that we can make ... It will be a judgement of the Lords as to how this bill progresses.”

What is a Section 21 notice and why a re they s o hated?

Section 21 notices, commonly known as no-fault eviction notices, allow a landlord to give tenants two months’ notice to leave rented accommodation at any time in the tenure, crucially, without giving a reason. Tenants say that landlords may use them to evict tenants in response to a request for repairs or a complaint about conditions, or to move in new tenants at a higher rent.

Tenants also say the notices leave them with a permanent sense of insecurity as they never know when they may be required to leave. Research by YouGov, commissioned by Shelter, found that 943,000 tenants have been served Section 21 notices since April 2019, and that almost 85,000 of these households were put at risk of homelessness as a result.