The government has confirmed its promise that Section 21 will be scrapped however it will not happen until after Covid-19 is brought to heel.

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In a written parliamentary question Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney asked the Housing Minister Chris Pincher what the government’s intention to abolish the Section 21 notice.

Pincher told Olney: “The government is committed to abolishing Section 21 through a Renters’ Reform Bill, which will enhance renters’ security and improve protections for tenants.

“Repealing Section 21 represents the largest change to renting in 30 years and it is only right that the reforms are taken forward in a considered manner.

“It is important that providing tenants with greater security of tenure is balanced with an assurance that landlords are able to recover their properties where they have valid reasons to do so. This is vital to ensuring the future supply of good quality housing in the rented sector.

“We will bring forward the Renters’ Reform Bill in due course once the urgencies of responding to the pandemic have passed.”

The Conservatives made their Renters Reform Bill one of its key measures in their 2019 Conservative General Election manifesto.

The election pledge was that the Bill would include abolishing Section 21 as well as introducing the transferable lifetimes deposit that can be switched from properties as tenants move rented homes.

The Renters Reform Bill was announced last December in the Queen’s Speech which should have been introduced in 2020; however that was before the coronavirus reared its ugly head.