50 Tory MPs may vote against or abstain on Reform Bill - claim

An unnamed Conservative MP cited in a newspaper claims up to 30 colleagues may vote against the Renters Reform Bill in its current form, with 20 others abstaining.

The i newspaper, which is published only online, has a story today headlined: “Inside the rebellion over Renters Reform Bill led by Tory landlords”. 

The piece is short on certainties and high on speculation: it says “those considering voting against the Government are believed to include high profile Tories such as Jacob Rees Mogg” and adds that “Kevin Hollinrake, the former chairman of national estate agency chain Hunters, is also thought to be a potential rebel.” It names no other MPs at all.

However, it quotes one anonymous Tory backbencher - described as ‘prominent’ - who says: “At the moment we have a government that’s adopting all Jeremy Corbyn housing policies except we’re not building any more homes.

“Why should landlords be forced to accept that market forces don’t apply to them when we’re not committed to building more homes to ease prices. It’s not the fault of landlords that the price of renting is going up. It’s the fault of not enough homes being available to either buy or rent.

“Costs of being a landlord are much higher now, so why shouldn’t landlords be able to charge more and rent their properties to people at the market rate to cover their increased costs?”

On Tuesday evening we reported that the Bill, which had been expected to be published this week, had been pulled by the government and delayed for an unspecified period of time. Around a week ago the I, in a separate story, said some Tory MPs were unhappy with the anti-landlord rhetoric and measures contained in the Bill: again, Kevin Hollinrake was named as a possible opponent of the Bill.

In today’s i story another unnamed Tory MP - described as owning “a number of rental properties” - is quoted: “There is a significant number that have issues with the Bill and I remain sceptical about it. The best way to bring rents down is to build more homes and make it easier for people to get on the housing ladder.

“We now understand the bill may have been delayed, and some of us are hopeful that this means Michael [Gove] is willing to listen to concerns among people like me. I’m not entirely sure why it’s been delayed, but whatever the reason we now have a chance to ensure the bill does not introduce overburdensome restrictions on landlords, who are key in any housing market.

“What is important is that the government comes up with a full plan for housing and, as it stands, it not clear how this bill solves much at all. In fact, it probably causes more problems by putting off landlords from staying with the sector.”

Here is the latest i story in full, although for some readers it may be behind a paywall.

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities spokesman told Letting Agent Today: “We are absolutely committed to delivering a fairer deal for renters. We will bring forward legislation very shortly, which will include a ban on ‘no fault’ evictions, so that all tenants have greater security in their homes and are empowered to challenge poor conditions.

“We are also introducing a Decent Homes Standard for the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever which will make sure privately rented homes are safe and decent.”