A BELATED move by Tory ministers to finally abolish “no-fault” evictions will not stop rogue landlords from using large rent hikes to force unwanted tenants out, campaigners warned today. 

The London Renters Union (LRU) welcomed Downing Street’s confirmation today that ministers plan to follow through on their 2019 commitment to ban widely condemned section 21 orders, first introduced by Margaret Thatcher in 1988.

The Renters’ Reform Bill, due before Parliament soon, will also make it illegal for landlords to refuse tenancies to families with children and to those claiming benefits in England, the government said.

Additionally, ministers also claimed that the country’s 11 million renters will be given a new legal right to request having a pet at home which landlords “cannot unreasonably refuse,” while another change will make it easier for properties to be repossessed from “anti-social” tenants.

But the LRU repeated its warnings that bad operators could dodge the new eviction ban by using large rent hikes and other “backdoor” evictions to kick out renters. 

The new law is only likely to allow tenants to challenge rent rises that exceed average market increases in the local area, but in London alone, 80 per cent of tenants are already struggling to afford soaring housing costs amid 40-year high double-digit inflation, the union said.

It called for caps on in-tenancy rent rises and stronger deterrents for landlords to protect renters from fraudulent use of new eviction grounds, which include landlords wishing to sell up or move a family member in.

LRU spokeswoman Siobhan Donnachie said: “Bringing an end to the blight of ‘no-fault’ evictions is long overdue.

“Too many families have been forced into homelessness in the four years since the Tories promised to end this cruel legislation.

“But there is nothing in this Bill banning huge and unfair rent increases. For the many families struggling with housing costs, a 20 per cent rent hike is simply a ‘no-fault’ eviction under a different name.

“If the government is serious about bringing renters security in our homes, it must recognise how insecure renters feel speaking out against unsafe housing with the threat of inflation-busting rent increases hanging over our heads.”

Labour’s shadow housing secretary Lisa Nandy said: “After years of delay, broken promises and arguments amongst ministers, the private rented sector increasingly resembles the wild west and it’s far from clear that this government can deliver.”