The lives of around 10,000 people living in Darlington private rented accommodation will improve thanks to new measures, it has been claimed. 

Darlington MP Lola McEvoy said the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill is a “truly transformational piece of legislation” after Labour set out its plans to protect renters. 

The Bill aims to put tenants in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases and place restrictions on landlords to ensure they can only raise rent once a year at the market rate.

Labour MP McEvoy said it will support those whose lives have been turned upside down by bad landlords. 

She said: “While most people live a decent life in my town, too many renting privately are struggling to get what I believe is a fundamental right—a secure and safe home. This will help them.”

On Wednesday, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said every renter should have a secure home and promised to end no-fault evictions. 

Lola McEvoy praised the impact the new Bill will have Lola McEvoy praised the impact the new Bill will have (Image: Stuart Boulton)

Ms McEvoy said support for better veterans’ rights is desperately needed. “My constituent, a father and a veteran, has been served a section 21 notice, meaning that he will be evicted without grounds,” the Darlington MP said. 

“He already has mental health challenges, and his elderly mother has offered to take him in, but she lives in a small bungalow, and fears that that might jeopardise the agreement that gives him shared custody of his daughter. That is a wholly unacceptable way for anyone to be treated, let alone those who have served our country. The Bill will help this family. Banning section 21 no-fault evictions would give him more security.”

More than 100,000 households have been subject to a no-fault eviction since 2019, with 26,000 being in the last year alone.

During a House of Commons debate, MPs were also told of another Darlington resident who fell foul of the current legislation. 

“She had paid her deposit and paid her rent on time every month, yet she was not given a legal tenancy,” Ms McEvoy said. “She knew she was vulnerable, but had nowhere to turn. The Bill will give her the right to contact, for free, a new private rented sector ombudsman, who will help her to sort out her situation.”

Provisions will also be put in place to remove fixed-term tenancies, stop sharp rent increases, prohibit bidding wars for properties, and end landlords and letting agents asking for large deposits.

Recommended reading: 

Subscribe to The Northern Echo now.

The legislation will give renters one year of protection at the beginning of a tenancy, during which landlords cannot evict to move in or sell the property, and would double notice periods for various grounds for possession from two months to four months.

It is also expected to give local councils stronger powers to crack down on unscrupulous landlords and give tenants the right to request keeping a pet, with landlords unable to unreasonably refuse.

Despite the concerns Darlington’s Lola McEvoy also commended the majority of landlords, “ who do right by their tenants”.