The government is widely expected to announce that Section 21 eviction powers will be scrapped in new legislation coming to Parliament later this year.

After months of speculation and exhaustive lobbying by activists in pressure groups such as Generation Rent and the campaigning charity Shelter, the announcement is likely to be in the Queen’s Speech today.

The Financial Times, quoting unnamed sources, says the pledge will definitely be made alongside a promise to introduce a Renters Reform Bill.

The FT says: “Rather than a standalone renters’ bill, officials hope the legislation will be included in a broader ‘levelling-up bill’ being put forward by Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.”

The FT continues: “In [2019] ministers launched a consultation into repealing Section 21 of the housing act, but its suspension has been pushed back several times. The move comes at a time when the cost of living crisis and rising rents have put financial pressure on tenants after the withdrawal of government support for employees and renters during the pandemic, which has left many more exposed. According to property portal Rightmove, the average asking price for rents in London increased 14 per cent in the year to April, and more than 10 per cent in the rest of England.”

The Queen’s Speech will announce about 20 pieces of legislation including an economic crime bill, financial services bill and a media bill. 

However the FT says some proposed reforms have been dropped, including a bill to change audit and corporate governance rules, and a competition bill to give statutory powers to the fledgling digital markets unit for devising codes of conduct for tech companies.