Eviction ban and UK rents up

Labour wants the eviction ban extended and new figures from the ONS show rents across the UK were up by 1.4% to July this year.

Labour wants eviction ban extended

The Shadow Housing Secretary, Thangam Debbonaire MP, has written to the HCLG Secretary, Robert Jenrick MP, ahead of the ban on evictions being lifted this weekend.

In the letter, she says: “Labour has consistently argued that the ban should not be lifted until the government has introduced changes to our broken housing system that will protect tenants.”

The letter goes on to ask:

• What assessment has the government made of likely numbers of people facing homelessness if the ban is lifted?
• What consideration has it given to public health, with possibly thousands of households becoming homeless as we go into winter?
• Why has the government not taken steps to honour your 2019 manifesto pledge to end section 21?
• What steps is the government taking to prevent a rent debt crisis? She argues that: “Renters are harder hit by the crisis, but government support has so far focused on landlords and home-owners.”

She concludes: “After the incompetent handling of the exams fiasco, the government must act now to avoid more chaos of its own making. The situation is urgent, but there is still time for you to rethink, and extend the ban. I urge you to do so.”

PRS rents up by 1.4%

The Office for National Statistics has published the latest Index of Private Housing Rental Prices for the UK for July 2020. It shows:

• Private rental prices paid by tenants in the UK rose by 1.4% in the 12 months to July 2020, down from 1.5% in the 12 months to June 2020.
• Private rental prices grew by 1.4% in England, 1.6% in Wales and 0.6% in Scotland in the 12 months to July 2020.
• London private rental prices rose by 1.1% in the 12 months to July 2020.

In context, inflation in the 12 months to July 2020 was:

• 1.1% as measured by CPIH.
• 1% as measured by CPI.
• 1.6% as measured by RPI.