The British government on Wednesday announced a reform in England aimed at ending the right of landlords to evict their tenants without justification.
The UK as a whole is facing a housing shortage crisis due to skyrocketing rents and a lack of new construction.
The reform, which will only apply to England – one of the four countries that make up the country – will respond to one of the main demands of tenant defense groups.
The opposition Labor Party received the Conservative government’s plan with reservations and promised, if it came to power within a year and a half, to press ahead with a reform that allows construction in protected areas.
Nearly 230,000 tenants have received “no-fault” eviction notices since April 2019, when the British government first promised to end the practice, housing rights organization Shelter said last year.
More landlords are using it since the government lifted eviction restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Housing Minister Michael Gove said the proposed new law would require landlords to give reasons for eviction and tenants would be able to challenge it.
“This Government is determined to address these injustices by presenting a New Deal for those living in the private rental sector, a deal that has quality, affordability and equity at its core,” he said.
Siobhan Donachie, a spokeswoman for the London Tenants’ Union, welcomed the “much anticipated” bill, but alleged the reforms outlined by Gove do nothing to protect tenants from exorbitant rent increases.
“For many families struggling with the cost of housing at this time, a 20% rent increase is no fault of eviction by any other name,” he lamented.
