Beleaguered ministers under fire over renting reform changes

Ministers are again under attack for the way looming reforms to renting are being handled.

Campaigners have hit out after 111 pages of changes to the Renters (Reform) Bill were added as MPs are looking at the bill in detail.

Earlier this week, housing minister Rachel Maclean, who was in charge of the renting reform bill’s passage through the House of Commons, was sacked.

Deflecting blame

Also, MPs on the housing select committee have accused ministers of trying to “deflect blame” for an indefinite delay to abolition of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

In a letter to housing secretary Michael Gove, committee chairman Clive Betts accused ministers of suggesting MPs agreed a delay with no fixed deadline was necessary until court backlogs were dealt with.

Betts said the Government had four years to ensure the courts were ready to deal with an influx of cases once Section 21 was gone.

Outrageous

Now, the Renters Reform Coalition is calling the latest amendments to the bill “an outrageous way to legislate”.

Tom Darling, campaign manager at the coalition (main picture), says: “We have been expecting Government amendments to the Renters (Reform) Bill for a while now as there are key parts of the legislation missing – but to publish them overnight with the important committee stage in full swing is not acceptable.

It doesn’t help that this is happening the day after the housing minister was sacked”.

“It doesn’t help that this is happening the day after the housing minister was sacked, and it’s still unclear which government minister is now actually responsible for this crucial bill.”

The renting reform amendments proposed to the bill include moves to introduce the decent homes standard to private sector housing, bans on landlords discriminating against renters with children or on benefits, and powers for councils to enforce parts of the legislation.

Picture: Sky News