LABOUR called today for a ban on evictions of all renters affected by the coronavirus.
Shadow housing minister John Healey will propose draft legislation to prevent landlords kicking out tenants who fall behind on payments as a result of the virus.
Mr Healey warned that two thirds of private renters and eight in 10 social renters have no savings to rely on if they fall ill or need to go into self-isolation.
“Our current threadbare legal safety net means that renters are vulnerable to eviction if they get ill and fall behind on their rent,” he said.
“The fear of being evicted may also mean workers are reluctant to stay off work and self-isolate.”
Calling on the government to adopt the legislation immediately, he said: “This is an essential first step in public reassurance, giving people confidence they can follow official health advice in responding to coronavirus without putting their home at risk.”
The law would change the legal basis for eviction by excluding arrears built up due to the pandemic and would cover anyone whose failure to pay rent was “in any way” related to Covid-19.
It would initially cover any arrears that accumulate between March 1 2020 and September 1 2020, with the option of an extention.
Housing campaign groups including tenants’ union Acorn and the London Renters Union have called on the government to protect renters.
A petition set up by Acorn last week calling for an emergency freeze on evictions had attracted almost 10,000 signatures as of yesterday afternoon.
It says: “There are 2.5 million private landlords in this country, and the security and safety of renters cannot be left to each individual landlord’s goodwill.
“The UK government must act to ensure that renters who are forced to self-isolate will not risk eviction from their homes or incur rent arrears, that for many people will take weeks, if not months, to pay off.”
The group said that the measures outlined in Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget such as paying workers in self-isolation statutory sick pay did not go far enough.
The average rent for a one-bedroom flat stands at £650 a month while four weeks of statutory sick pay amounts to just £377, the group said.
