The government is under new pressure to introduce a last minute eviction ban to avoid private renters facing homelessness over Christmas.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey says thousands of renters and even homeowners who cannot afford mortgage payments are facing a “nightmare before Christmas”. 

The Lib Dem proposals include a temporary ban on home repossession, between now and December 31, along similar lines to the bans in place during the pandemic. The party is also calling for a new Mortgage Protection Fund, which would provide temporary grants to those owners most at risk of repossession.

He adds: “The Conservative government put hundreds of pounds on people’s mortgages through their disastrous mini-budget. The very least they could now do is to take responsibility for fixing this mess and protecting homeowners on the brink. No-one should face losing their home this Christmas because the Conservative government crashed the economy.”

And he continues: “These measures would stop banks from repossessing people’s homes who have been hit the hardest by soaring mortgage prices as well as bringing forward the promised ban on no-fault evictions, alongside a ban on evictions for arrears over the winter. We are deeply concerned that both renters and homeowners could face homelessness during one of the most difficult Winters in living memory.

“We are making these urgent calls on the Conservative Government as only days of Parliament remain before Christmas for the Prime Minister to take responsibility for the mess his Government has caused. The Conservatives have failed time and time again to bring forward the ban on no-fault evictions they promised and have made no attempt to stop repossessions caused by their disastrous mini-Budget. They must act now before it is too late.”

A similar call for an eviction ban has been made by the activists who run the Generation Rent group, as well as the campaigning charity Shelter – the latter currently crippled by a strike of its 600 staff.

Both of those groups want such a ban as part of a broader package of help for private tenants, including the immediate scrapping of section 21 evictions.