Reform UK has pledged to scrap a law that introduced a raft of new rights for private renters in England, saying ‘we have to change course’.
The Renters’ Rights Act, which was passed last year and is due to come into effect on May 1, ends no-fault evictions and the practice of landlords asking for more than one month’s rent in advance.
Introduced by then-Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner, it is considered one of the more popular pieces of legislation passed under Labour.
But in a speech on business policy this morning, Reform MP Richard Tice argued the law – despite being ‘well-intentioned’ – was ‘already reducing the supply of properties to rent and therefore increasing the prices’.
Tice, who has extensive experience as a landlord in the commercial sector, said it would be one of the targets of a Great Repeal Act which Reform would aim to get through Parliament if it wins power.
This move would scrap ‘things that are unnecessary or against the strategic national interest’, he said.
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Also included in the Repeal Act would be statutory net zero targets and the Employment Rights Act that passed into law shortly before Christmas.
In a post on X last night, Prime Minister Keir Starmer wrote that ‘stronger rights at work’ and ‘better protections for renters’ are now being ‘threatened by Reform’.
He added: ‘Nigel Farage has declared war on the interests of working people.’
The Renters’ Reform Coalition, which campaigned extensively for the new legislation, said getting rid of the law would risk harming living standards for 11 million tenants.
Director Claire Collingwood said: ‘Scrapping the basic protections in this Act would be a huge setback for millions of renters, driving up homelessness and making life harder particularly for those on lower incomes – Reform should think again.’
The group also pointed out that 24.5% of constituents in the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton are private renters.
Reform UK are hoping to snatch the constituency, which was won by Labour with a majority of more than 13,000 in 2024, at a crucial by-election on Thursday.
Tice’s speech came a day after Reform’s home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf set out plans for mass deportations if the party was to win power, including the creation of a British equivalent to the US immigration agency ICE.
The party has been pushing a number of significant policy announcements in the past week, including a U-turn on the two-child benefit cap.
Leader Nigel Farage previously supported scrapping the limit, but his Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick – who defected from the Conservatives last month – said instead he would revive it.
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