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Landlords will be handed stronger powers to evict their tenants under Conservative plans that campaigners fear will make more people homeless.
The UK’s leading charity has spoken out over the policy in Boris Johnson ’s manifesto – warning it “undermines” his promise of “a better deal for renters” if he wins the general election.
Crisis and Shelter fear the Tories will revive plans for fixed contracts if so-called no fault evictions are scrapped, arguing it will produce the same end result of vulnerable tenants being turfed out of their homes.
There is also concern over the plan to allow landlords to repossess a home by arguing it is needed by a family member – with a warning it will be open to abuse, unless properly policed.
“In reality, many tenants have very little negotiating power, particularly people moving on from homelessness ,” said Jasmine Basran, policy manager at the charity Crisis.
General election: On the campaign trailShow all 114 1 /114General election: On the campaign trail General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson drives a Union flag-themed JCB, with the words "Get Brexit Done" inside the digger bucket, through a fake wall emblazoned with the word "GRIDLOCK", during a general election campaign event at JCB construction company in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire
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General election: On the campaign trail A sculpture of an owl is bedecked with an EU beret as Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson gestures during an interview at a general election campaign event in Bath
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson (C) talks during a question and answer session on a general election campaign visit to Ferguson's Transport in the town of Washington, west of Sunderland
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson tries to save a shot during a warm up before a girls football match while on the campaign trail in Cheadle Hulme, northwest England
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General election: On the campaign trail Jeremy Corbyn makes cup of coffee as he campaigns in Barry, south Wales
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General election: On the campaign trail Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a Christmas market in Salisbury
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General election: On the campaign trail Liberal Democrat Leader Jo Swinson on the election campaign bus on route to Chelmsford
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson, centre, talks to veteran James Gammer as he visits a veterans centre
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General election: On the campaign trail Jeremy Corbyn has a photo taken outside Birkbeck/SOAS University
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General election: On the campaign trail Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson during a visit to the Cardiff United Synagogue
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General election: On the campaign trail Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage reacts as he attends an election debate
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General election: On the campaign trail Prime Minister Boris Johnson on The Andrew Marr Show
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General election: On the campaign trail Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn eats some chips in Whitby, northern England
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson visits Chulmleigh College
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General election: On the campaign trail Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as he appearing on the BBC political programme The Andrew Neil Show. The opposition leader defended his handling of anti-Semitism allegations after Britain's most senior rabbi suggested the issue was a "new poison" within the party that had been "sanctioned from the very top". In an unprecedented intervention ahead of next month's election, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis suggested Corbyn was "unfit for high office" due to his perceived failure to clamp down on the problem within the party
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General election: On the campaign trail
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General election: On the campaign trail Prime Minister Boris Johnson launches the Conservative Party Scottish Manifesto in North Queensferry
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General election: On the campaign trail A coalition of NHS (National Health Service) campaigners led by "Keep Our NHS Public" and "We Own It", pose for photographs with masks of US President Donal Trump, right, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson carving up the NHS with a giant knife and fork, as they take part in a demonstration on Parliament Square. The campaigners are calling for the NHS to be taken "off the table" in a trade deal with the US by ending privatisation in the health service and restoring it to a wholly publicly owned and provided service
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson prepares to serve food at the Royal Welsh Showground
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General election: On the campaign trail Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage visits Seaham
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General election: On the campaign trail Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives for the Conservative party's manifesto launch in Telford
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General election: On the campaign trail Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn meets supporters during a visit to Thurrock in Essex
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General election: On the campaign trail Protesters wait for the arrival of Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the launch of his party's manifesto
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General election: On the campaign trail Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a visit to Bassetlaw District General Hospital in Worksop, Nottinghamshire
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General election: On the campaign trail Nigel Farage campaigns in Hartlepool
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson lays a brick during a visit to the Barratt Homes
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General election: On the campaign trail
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General election: On the campaign trail Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson (left) during a visit to the Gurdwara Singh Sabha Temple in Glasgow
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General election: On the campaign trail Nigel Farage takes a mouthful of homemade cheesecake during a stop at the Grimsby Seafood Village
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General election: On the campaign trail Boris Johnson hauling a consignment of frozen chocolate gateaux, during a visit to Iceland Foods HQ in Deeside
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General election: On the campaign trail Jo Swinson puts on a high visibility jacket during a visit to Sigma Pharmaceuticals, a family run pharmaceutical wholesaler in Watford
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“There is a significant risk that many tenants will not understand their rights to continue to occupy their home at the end of the fixed term – and that an unintended consequence will be an increase in the numbers of people facing homelessness and potentially being judged intentionally homeless.”
And Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Fixed-term tenancies don’t give renters the flexibility they need and can have disastrous consequences.
“No one should be locked into a tenancy they can’t afford if they lose their job – nor should someone be faced with another barrier when trying to leave an abusive relationship.”
However, the Conservatives defended the plans, arguing there was a need to “ensure greater clarity and fairness in the private rental market” for both landlords and tenants.
The criticism comes after a little-noticed section in the Conservative manifesto which reads: “If you’re one of the many good landlords, we will strengthen your rights of possession.”
The prime minister has been under pressure over the power balance between landlords and tenants since shelving the vow to end no fault evictions in last month’s Queen’s Speech.
The party’s manifesto insists that is still the intention, as well as introducing “lifetime” deposits to avoid tenants having to pay, and reclaim, down payments each time they change properties.
Hailing the “Better Deal for Renters”, the manifesto states: “This will create a fairer rental market: if you’re a tenant, you will be protected from revenge evictions and rogue landlords.”
However, it then adds: “And if you’re one of the many good landlords, we will strengthen your rights of possession.”
It is unclear exactly what is intended, but a previous consultation proposed allowing new fixed contracts, of unknown length, rather than simply “assured tenancies” with no time limit.
They would be introduced by strengthening section 8 of the existing 1988 Housing Act – if section 21 of the same legislation is scrapped, to end “no fault” evictions carried out with no reason given.
In contrast, Labour is pledging “open-ended tenancies” to “give renters the security they need” after section 21 is removed.
And the Liberal Democrats have proposed “longer tenancies of three years or more, to give tenants security and limit rent hikes”.
Landlords had called for section 8 to be “expanded”, to incorporate the wish to sell a property and to allow tenants responsible for anti-social behaviour to be evicted on less-rigorous evidence.
But Crisis urged ministers not to bow to pressure that would revive the risk of sudden evictions by the back door.
“We believe that the beneficial impacts of abolishing assured shorthold tenancies [brought in by the 1988 Act] should not be undermined by the routine use of fixed terms contracts,” Ms Basran added.
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Ms Neate hailed all parties’ pledges to scrap no-fault evictions as “a ground-breaking shift”, but warned: “Such a transformational change can’t work alongside fixed-term tenancies.”
The National Housing Federation said removing section 21 would still leave private rented housing as an expensive, loosely regulated sector where it was “hard to hold individual landlords to account”.
“The private rented sector just isn’t suitable for many people – it’s often too expensive and, because it’s relatively insecure, it stops many families from putting down roots,” said Catherine Ryder, director of policy.
But a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “We’ve been consistent that, as we scrap section 21, we need to strengthen section 8 and the grounds of possession. This is to ensure greater clarity and fairness in the private rental market.
“If you are strengthening the rights of renters then the rights of landlords should be clear, especially when they relate to the need to reclaim the property in fair circumstances, such as non-payment of rent or antisocial behaviour.
“At present, the system is slow to respond to these issues. We will consult with landlords and tenants’ groups to make sure the section 8 reforms are fair to both groups.”
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