Law banning 'revenge evictions' by landlords passed in House of Lords

The House of Lords have passed a law banning landlords from evicting tenants who complain about conditions in their homes.

The law, passed as part of the Deregulation Bill, now means landlords will no longer be able to carry out so-called "revenge evictions" if they have not sufficiently responded to tenants' complaints about housing conditions.

According to housing charity Shelter, more than 200,000 people every year face being thrown out of their properties after complaining to their landlord or letting agent about a problem that was not their responsibility to solve.

Lib Dem MP Sarah Teather previously attempted to ban revenge evictions with a private members' bill last November.

However, the bill did not pass after Tory MPs Christopher Chope and Philip Davies successfully filibustered the discussion by talking for more than three hours between them. Both Chope and Davies are also private landlords.

The bill has now been successfully passed after it was included on the Deregulation Bill.

Campbell Robb, Shelter's chief executive, said: "We're thrilled that politicians from all the parties have finally taken a stand for renters across the country today by banning revenge evictions once and for all. Hundreds of thousands of people will no longer face the appalling choice between living in a home that puts them or their family in danger, or risking eviction if they complain.

"Thank you to the thousands of Shelter supporters who backed our campaign and asked their MPs to end this unfair practice. This is an important step towards protecting renters across the country, but there is still more to be done. As we approach the general election, all politicians need to show renters they will continue to do everything they can to fix our broken rental market for good."