Michael Gove’s flagship renters’ reform bill, which would end ‘no-fault’ evictions in England, has been put on ice again — with the Financial Time reporting that its crucial second reading in the House of Commons is being held up by vested interests in the government whips’ office, where five of 16 whips own rental property.  

“There are a number of landlords in the whips’ office who are amplifying the level of concern among Tory MPs and holding things up,” one Whitehall official told the FT, speaking on terms of anonymity.

Gavin Richardson, managing director at Mortgages for Business (MFB), said the whips had less to fear from the scrapping Section 21 eviction notices in the Renters Reform Bill than they realised. He said: “I want to reassure the whips that we don’t think the reforms will prove to be that bad for landlords. Sensible landlords — even those working in the Conservative whips’ office — rarely turf out good tenants who pay their rent as they want them to stick around. So, this reform will disproportionately hit the minority of bad landlords who have abused Section 21 notices, rather than the reputable end of the market.”