Tory Cabinet Minister Michael Gove has abandoned his promise that no-fault evictions for renters will be banned before the general election.
Five years after the Conservatives first promised to end the practice, Mr Gove only said he "hopes" it will become law before Britain heads to the polls. No-fault evictions - or Section 21 notices - allow landlords to evict tenants on a whim and without reason and many charities have blamed them for increased levels of homelessness.
Pressed by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg back in February whether the practice would end in time for the general election, Mr Gove said: "We will have outlawed it and we will have put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they can enforce that."
But the Levelling Up Secretary failed to repeat the pledge when quizzed by the broadcaster as the Renter's Reform Bill returns to the Commons today. Asked whether he could repeat his promise, Mr Gove replied: "Everything depends on the House of Lords. My determination is to ensure that we get this bill on the statute book. But it's up to the Lords to decide the rate of progress that we can make.
"If opposition parties are supportive - and I believe that while they have some quibbles, they are supportive of the essential principle that we're bringing forward - then we can have Section 21 ended before the general election. That's the aim."
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He added: "It will be the judgement of the Lords as to how this Bill progresses... but I hope that we can get it on the statute book before the election."
The Chief Executive of the housing charity Shelter Polly Neate replied: "Not only can Michael Gove not guarantee to #EndSection21 by the election - this butchered Renters Reform Bill simply won’t deliver protection renters were promised and urgently needed. Sad and angry to say, this Bill is just not supportable."
It comes as MPs prepare to vote today on the Renters' Reform Bill - which was billed as a shake-up of the rental market giving extra rights to millions of cash-strapped tenants in England.
But campaigners have blasted ministers for backing down on their pledge to end no-fault evictions and making too many "damaging" concessions. While the Bill includes the long-promised plan to abolish no-fault evictions the Government has said it will delay the ban until the courts are assessed to have the capacity to deal with new cases.
The move has prompted criticism that ministers have abandoned renters and conceded to "pro-landlord Conservative MPs". Labour said the no-fault eviction ban promised in the Tory manifesto is "collapsing under the weight of vested interests" and called for the plan to be implemented immediately.
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