Activists demand cash compensation for evicted tenants

The Renters’ Reform Coalition is demanding the Government introduces compensation for evicted tenants in the Renters’ Rights Bill.

Tom Darling, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition

The Renters’ Reform Coalition’s Tom Darling is calling for the Government to go further with the Renters’ Rights Bill by including compensation for tenants who are evicted when it gets its Second Reading in Parliament next week.

Although the Renters’ Rights Bill will abolish ‘Section 21’, ‘no-fault’ evictions, landlords will still be able to evict tenants with two months’ notice if, for example, they want to sell the property or they or a family member want to move in.

The coalition says that these types of evictions should be compensated for by giving tenants a two-month rent-free period at the end of their tenancy.

£1,709 compensation

That is because the group claims that an unwanted move currently costs a typical two-adult household an average of £1,709.

It adds that evictions can also push renters into poverty, homelessness or debt due to the high costs involved in moving home, deposits, and paying ‘double rent’ if tenancies overlap.

Compensation, it argues, would mitigate these harms and sharply reduce the number of evictions that lead to homelessness.

Tom Darling, Director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “It’s frankly ridiculous section 21 still exists – we’re approaching 6 years since the previous government first promised to abolish it, while every indicator on the dashboard has been going in the wrong direction.

We are concerned the legislation may still fall short of the mark.”

“So we as renting campaigners have welcomed the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill. This legislation is a significant improvement on the last government’s effort: as drafted it will already make a difference for a lot of people.

“The government should hold their nerve in the face of threats from landlords of a wave of evictions before the reforms come in. This threat in itself shows why change is so desperately needed.”

“Despite all this, we are concerned the legislation may still fall short of the mark, given the government’s important ambitions to rebalance the private rented sector.”

The Renters’ Reform Coalition is a campaign group which comprises 21 leading organisations supporting and representing private renters. It includes major homelessness and housing charities such as Shelter and Crisis, campaigners Generation Rent, as well as tenant union groups like ACORN.


3 Comments

  1. “an unwanted move currently costs a typical two-adult household an average of £1,709.” Not sure how that figure was arrived at; are you sure Tom you are not quoting the average figure the landlord has to account for when a tenant leaves – the void and re-letting costs? For a tenant, which sounds highly suspect anyway and typical labour lies, this figure is going to increase with the abolition of fixed term tenancies – apparently for the reason that tenants need to be more mobile according to the government guidance on the Renter’s Reform bill. So we are now saying that tenants need to be more mobile so they can move more than once or twice during a 6 or 12 month period (majority of current fixed term tenancies) at an average cost to the tenant of £1,709 per move?

    And costs to the landlord are certainly going to increase with the current mandatory 2 month rent arrears ground changing to a discretionary 4 month ground that will have to be put through the courts before any chance of possession can be considered. An effective cap on rent increases that can only take effect, if disputed, once the Tribunal gets round to assessing the rent to be imposed.

  2. The Landlord & Tenant Act 1988 was, in my humble opinion, one of the very best pieces of legislation to come out of Whitehall ever and was the very foundation of what todays Private Rental Sector was built on. The fundamentals of this act was based on a reciprocal arrangement between landlord & tenant.
    Therefore, if this no doubt well meaning group, want to see compensation for tenants who are served notice, perhaps they would be willing to call for additional compensation for landlords where tenants simply ignore the notice and cause landlords enormous stress, legal costs and time while the eviction process goes through?
    When will the Government wake up to the very real issue of landlords selling up in record numbers. Will the forthcoming budget lock landlords in with massive capital gains increases? That will not help increase the available stock as investors will look at easier and more profitable options.

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