Council backs ‘critical’ change in Renters (Reform) Bill to reduce homelessness

The Leader of Cannock Chase Council has joined a cross-party group of over a hundred council leaders in England, in backing an amendment to the Renters (Reform) Bill to increase notice periods for private tenants being evicted.

In a letter to Secretary of State for Housing Michael Gove, 103 council leaders demanded the change which they claimed, “will help to reduce the number of people claiming homelessness duties because of the end of a private rented sector tenancy.”

The intervention followed stark warnings from local government figures that the rising cost of homelessness, which councils bear through a duty to provide temporary accommodation, is leading local authorities to effective bankruptcy and could spell "the end of local government". 

The end of a private tenancy is a major cause of homelessness - official statistics released recently, which highlighted significant increases in rough sleeping, also showed that a quarter of eligible claims for homelessness support were due to the end of an Assured Shorthold (private rented) Tenancy.

In the data the biggest cause of homelessness claims for private renters was eviction due to the landlord wishing to sell the property, which made up 40% of all eligible claims.

Eviction for this reason will continue to be possible after the Renters (Reform) Bill has been passed.

The council leaders’ letter, coordinated by the Renters’ Reform Coalition, calls on the Housing Secretary to “consider amending the legislation so that tenants have four months’ notice if they are being evicted through no fault of their own in the new tenancy regime.” The proposal has the support of the Local Government Association.

The Renters (Reform) Bill abolishes section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions, but landlords will still be able to evict tenants by providing an approved reason, such as for family to move in or to sell the property.

In these instances the Bill retains the two-month notice period which many renters currently struggle with - research by Shelter found that over a third of tenants take longer than this to find a new home. 

By extending this to four months, councils say renters will have “more security and time to find a new home which suits their needs”, which will “reduce the number of people claiming homelessness support following the end of a private tenancy, lessening the impact of evictions on local government finances.”

Councillor Tony Johnson (pictured), Leader of Cannock Chase Council said: “We are happy to lend our support to this important amendment to the Bill, noting many of the good things the Bill overall seeks to do. But we all know that a couple of months to make significant lifestyle changes is really `no time at all` and so really does need to be increased.”

Tom Darling, campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “The Renters (Reform) Bill has many positive aspects but is still insufficient to address the scale of the crisis in the private rented sector. One critical change the Government must implement is increasing notice periods for renters when they are forced to move.

“Just as it does today, continuing with the status quo two-month notice period will leave renters frantically scrambling to find a suitable new home in time, with many ending up presenting as homeless to their local council when this search comes up empty.

“Increasing notice periods would be a win-win - providing more security for England’s 12 million private renters, while also providing some much needed relief to councils buckling under the growing cost of temporary accommodation. We’re very grateful to Councillor Tony Johnson for backing this important campaign.”