In a recent statement, the chief executive of Generation Rent, Dan Twomey, launched a fresh critique against landlords who demand tenants vacate their properties, claiming current policies allow evictions “at a landlord’s whim.”
Twomey highlighted the failure of both Labour and Conservative parties to advance the Renters Reform Bill before the upcoming July 4 General Election. He stated, “Abandoning the Renters Reform Bill as parliament dissolves means the government has failed in its promise to renters at the last election to deliver a fairer tenancy system.”
Twomey attributed the failure to pass the bill to delays caused by a minority of MPs opposing it. “If it had not been for delays caused by a minority of MPs opposing the Bill, the government could enter the election campaign with a new law to end Section 21 evictions and bring in stronger protections for renters,” he asserted.
With parliament dissolving, Twomey emphasized the need for the next government to prioritize rental reform. “It now falls to the next parliament to start afresh and get it right the second time. Whoever forms the next government must make rental reform a key part of their agenda,” he urged. “This means proper protections from evictions when we have done nothing wrong and limits on unaffordable rent rises so we can’t be turfed onto the streets at a landlord’s whim.”
Despite the bipartisan nature of the decision to stall the bill, Generation Rent placed the blame squarely on the current government. The campaign group noted, “The government has had since 2019 to pass this Bill and abolish section 21 no-fault evictions and it has failed to do so. The Bill had been delayed on numerous occasions by a minority of pro-landlord MPs and these delays have ultimately meant that the Bill has not passed.”
As the election approaches, the debate over tenant protections and landlord rights continues to heat up, with Generation Rent urging immediate and decisive action from future lawmakers.