CAMPAIGNERS are celebrating the announcement that a ban on no-fault evictions will come into force in May, but warned that more must be done to address affordable rents.

The Renters’ Right Act will ban section 21 evictions, which allow landlords to kick out tenants for no reason with just two months’ notice.

The move is part of the first tranche of reforms being introduced under the Act in six months’ time.

Under the new rules, there will be a ban on asking for more than one month’s rent in advance when a tenancy begins, and landlords will also be prevented from increasing rent more than once a year.

They will also no longer be able to discriminate against tenants for being on benefits or having children, and will not be able to unreasonably refuse requests from their tenants to own pets.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “Everyone should have peace of mind and the security of a roof over their head — the law we’ve just passed delivers that.”

Other measures will come into force in two further phases, the second of which will see the introduction of a new private landlord ombudsman to resolve tenants’ complaints, without the need to go to court.

Further measures to ensure private rented homes are of a good condition will then follow in a third phase.

Tenants’ union Acorn lauded the announcement as a “real victory for the housing movement” but warned that there is still more to be done, flagging concerns that it “doesn’t do anywhere near enough to address unaffordable rents.”

Above-market rent increases can be contested at a first-tier tribunal, but ministers have refused to implement a rent cap, leaving tenants vulnerable to spiralling costs.

The union added that it was “disappointing” that no concrete date has been announced for extending Awaab’s Law, which safeguards social housing tenants from dangerous conditions like damp and mould, to private renters.

Welcoming the ban on section 21 notices, Sarah Elliott, chief executive of homeless charity Shelter, said: “Families have been torn from their communities, with record numbers pushed into homelessness.

“Today we celebrate that their voices have finally been heard, and change is on the way.”