Ministers were today urged to push through a legal shake-up to stop “revenge evictions” after a Private Member’s Bill on the reform was blocked in the Commons.
Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather won widespread support — including from London Mayor Boris Johnson — for her Tenancies (Reform) Bill, but a few backbenchers stopped it proceeding in the Commons.
“I’m obviously extremely disappointed with the outcome,” she said. “I now need the Government to use the opportunity of the Consumer Rights Bill, which is currently in the Lords, to table the provisions they have publicly said they support.”
Ms Teather, the MP for Brent Central, told a Commons debate on Friday that a survey had found that 15 per cent of renters in London claimed they had been a victim of a “revenge eviction”, having either been forced out of their home or served with an eviction notice after complaining to their landlord about the state of the property.
This number was nearly 20 per cent among members of ethnic minorities.
Under the proposed change, a tenant could not be evicted under Section 21 of 1988 Housing Act — a no-fault eviction procedure — for six months if they had already made a complaint in writing and the grievance was supported by the local council.
