A Cotswold Conservative led council has sent a letter to Housing Secretary Michael Gove calling for him to legislate the Rental Reform Bill sooner rather than later.

The Tories just about managed to claw onto Cherwell council with a lowly majority of 25 seats to opposition parties’ 23 and is now demanding urgent action to be taken on rental reform.

The council’s statement says: “The council is responding to public concern over the dangers of substandard housing by calling for a rebalancing of the relationship between renters and landlords and for greater powers for local authorities to intervene when it becomes necessary.”

The Rental Reform Bill includes the pledge to scrap Section 21 evictions as well as a number of other measures.

Councillor Nicholas Mawer, portfolio holder for housing on the council, says: “We welcome the government’s proposed Renters Reform Bill. It will empower tenants by making them feel more secure in their homes and more confident of the standard of housing they should receive.

“With the cost of living crisis putting pressure on people who rent their homes, and with the deeply troubling death of Awaab Ishak still fresh in our minds, we are calling on ministers to bring forward these vital reforms without delay.

“Making sure everyone in our district has housing that meets their needs is one of our key commitments as a council. But all too often we come across troubling examples of bad practice that are only placing more stress and pressure on tenants, many of whom are often vulnerable.

“When required we will not hesitate to take enforcement action to support tenants, and the promised measures - including fresh powers to tackle failings by social housing landlords – would enable us to do more for our residents.

“We are keen to support this rebalancing of the relationship between tenants and landlords locally and are in conversation with tenants and social housing providers to help shape a new Tenant Charter for our area.”

The council’s Tenant Charter will in its own words: - “help renters understand their rights and what they can expect from their landlords, while encouraging landlords to follow best practice.”