If you are not among the 227,000 private tenants who were evicted due to no fault of their own, you would be forgiven for thinking the Government had already banned Section 21 notices. Section 21 notices allow landlords to end a tenant’s tenancy without giving tenants more than two months to leave. This was in April 2019. The practice was then halted as the pandemic hit. This was weeks after homeowners were granted extended mortgage holiday to help with costs. But that pause was lifted in May 2021. Instead, the Government plans to ban the practice “as soon as possible” three years after it originally promised to. This sloppy language is not good enough in a housing affordability crisis that has pushed renters into greater housing insecurity. Due to reduced tax relief and the lure of a booming market for property, landlords are selling up in large numbers. Further supply shortages will push rents to new heights. Increasing interest rates and high house prices are forcing potential buyers to stay in the rental sector. We must not forget that the entire population is facing a historic cost-of-living squeeze. The Government has stated that it is in agreement — it’s now time to put words into practice.
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