Not all renters smoke weed or are in gangs, minister says

Not all renters are "bad people" who smoke weed or are in gangs, the housing minister has said as she defended plans to strengthen renters' rights.

Rachel Maclean said the government was committed to the Renters Reform Bill and she hoped it would make progress in Parliament soon.

The bill would ban landlords in England from evicting tenants with no justification.

Some Tory MPs are concerned the changes will see more landlords sell up.

They argue this will reduce the number of rented homes available and push up prices.

There have been reports opposition from Conservative backbenchers is delaying the bill's progress.

The legislation was introduced in Parliament in May but no date has been set for its second reading, when MPs get a chance to debate the bill.

It needs to be approved by both the House of Commons and the Lords before it becomes law.

On Sunday, Housing Secretary Michael Gove told a fringe event at the Conservative Party conference the bill should have its second reading in the autumn.

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Speaking at a fringe event on Monday, hosted by the Bright Blue think tank and the National Residential Landlords Association, Ms Maclean said a lot of people had suggested to her that the Renters Reform Bill was "not Conservative" and no Tory supporters would vote for it.

However, she said all four of her children, who are in their late 20s or 30s, were private renters as well as Conservative voters.

"There are plenty of young people who are in the [private rented sector] who are not weed-smoking bad people, in gangs and crack dens and everything else and smashing up the neighbourhood," she said.

"There's lots of decent people, hard-working people in the [private rented sector] and we need to do the right thing for them."

Ms Maclean said there were also "a lot of very good landlords" and she did not want them to "lose confidence" in the market.

"If people are renting a property out they need to be able to get it back if they need to, they need to be able to evict bad tenants so we have taken the time to work through how that would work in practice," she added.

Under the current version of the bill, landlords will still be able to evict tenants in certain circumstances, including when they wish to sell the property or when they or a close family member want to move in, after six months.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, said many landlords were still concerned about whether they would be able to get their property back quickly enough if they needed to.

He told the BBC there was a lack of clarity about how possession cases would be processed by the court system, which he described as "on its knees".

However, Mr Beadle said he was a "pragmatist" and supported a "viable alternative" to so-called no-fault evictions.

Some Tory MPs are worried the bill could have unintended consequences.

Former housing minister Brandon Lewis said he supported the "fundamental principle" of the legislation but that ministers needed to get the "balance right".

He told a fringe event at the Tory Party conference he had concerns about parts of the bill.

"There is a risk if we don't get it right... more landlords [will leave] the market, which will put up rents even further," he said.

Meanwhile, campaigners representing renters are concerned about the possibility of further delays to the changes becoming law.

They say more than 20,000 households have been kicked out of their homes since the Conservatives first promised to ban no-fault evictions in 2019.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said: "Prioritising the rights of landlords over the past 30 years has led to tenants living in fear of a sudden notice that uproots our lives and forces us to find a new home.

"Under the government's proposals, landlords who have a valid reason to evict will still be able to do so, and tenants will know where we stand. Opponents of the bill need to explain why the worst landlords should be allowed to continue to bully and mistreat their tenants."