Woman ordered out of her home on the same day of her parents’ joint funeral says end of no-fault evictions ‘can only be a good thing’
- Lisa Harding, 51, was issued an eviction notice from a house in Lincolnshire
- She said that her eviction during the pandemic in 2021 was a ‘horrendous time’
A woman who was issued a section 21 eviction notice on the same day as the joint funeral of her parents, who died from Covid-19, has said the end of no-fault evictions ‘can only be a good thing’.
Lisa Harding, 51, said that being issued with an eviction notice from the house in Coningsby, Lincolnshire, during the pandemic in March 2021 was an ‘absolutely horrendous time’.
The freelance photojournalist added: ‘I couldn’t even go to the funeral, so I was preparing myself on the day for having to sit on my laptop, watching both of my parents’ coffins being brought into the crematorium in London while I was in Lincolnshire, in bits, frankly.’
Under the Government’s Renters’ Reform Bill, introduced to Parliament today, it will no longer be possible to evict tenants under Section 21 of the Housing Act, which gave landlords the power to remove them without justification.
After receiving a letter from the letting agent at around 8am on the day of her parents’ funeral, Ms Harding said she was ‘standing there in my hallway, looking at this piece of paper, knowing that I was about to virtually bury my parents in four hours’ time, and now knowing that I was prospectively homeless as well, and I really didn’t think that life could get much worse’.
Lisa Harding, 51, who was issued a section 21 eviction notice from a house in Lincolnshire on the same day as the joint funeral of her parents, has said the end of no-fault evictions ‘can only be a good thing’
Ms Harding said she had been furloughed from her hospitality job shortly before she was issued the eviction notice.
Living alone in the home for four years, she said she ‘never missed a rent payment, completely looked after the house, did the garden up, kept it in good repair’.
‘I had a fairly decent salary and overnight all of that was taken away from me with that one letter,’ she added.
She said she was ‘very lucky’ as, after ‘contacting agents left, right and centre’, she eventually moved into a property in the same area five months later.
Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, unveiled a package to help protect renters today, declaring that more than ten million renters will no longer face the threat of no fault evictions or a blanket ban on pet ownership.
Britain’s two million landlords will be able to increase rent only once a year under the legislation – and will have to give tenants two months’ notice for such hikes.
The measures have sparked concerns that many property owners will withdraw from the rental market and the housing supply crisis will deepen.
But landlords will also benefit from measures making it easier to evict irresponsible or anti-social tenants and recover their property when they need to sell it or move in a family member.
Michael Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, unveiled a package to help protect renters today, declaring that more than ten million renters will no longer face the threat of ‘no fault’ evictions
Appearing at a Tory convention in Westminster last night, Mr Gove said too many are ‘living in damp, unsafe, cold homes, powerless to put things right, and with the threat of sudden eviction hanging over them’.
He added: ‘Our new laws introduced to Parliament today will support the vast majority of responsible landlords who provide quality homes to their tenants, while delivering our manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.’
The proposals have been broadly welcomed by Labour.
Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Shelter, added: ‘The Renters’ Reform Bill is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to finally fix private renting. [It] must truly deliver change for renters when it becomes law, and it should be as strong as possible with every loophole closed, so that no renter can be unfairly evicted.
‘The Government must keep renters at the forefront to make sure this Bill has the teeth needed for real change.’
Critics suggested that scrapping no-fault evictions could make properties harder to rent for some tenants.
Matthew Lesh, of the Institute of Economic Affairs think-tank, said: ‘Landlords will inevitably be more selective about who they offer properties to and charge higher rents when they cannot quickly evict bad tenants. That is likely to disproportionately hurt those who are poorer, younger, and from minority communities.
‘New eviction rules and burdensome regulatory standards will only worsen the rental property shortage and record-high rents. The housing crisis won’t be solved by fiddling with rental rules.’
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