The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
RENT RULES WOULD PREVENT A ‘ST MICHAEL’S GATE’
New law will prevent repeat of St Michael’s Gate saga
The Government has vowed to crackdown on no-fault evictions, a policy which would prevent a repeat of the St Michael’s Gate saga.
Section 21 evictions will be outlawed, meaning private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants from their homes with just two months’ notice without good reason.
Controversially in 2016, 72 tenants out of 74 at the St Michael’s Gate estate in Parnwell were evicted in that manner by private housing firm Stef & Philips.
The properties were then leased to Peterborough City Council which uses them as temporary accommodation for its rising homeless population. The council insisted that if it did not rent the homes, Stef & Philips would have rented them to another local authority which would have moved homeless families from outside the city into Peterborough, costing local taxpayers millions of pounds.
The Peterborough Telegraph launched its own campaign to prevent a repeat of the St Michael’s Gate saga.
Jelana Stevic, one of the two tenants on long-term leases who was able to stay at St Michael’s Gate, said: “Section 21 was abused in use and used to gain more rental return on properties by greedy landlords and companies. But it’s too late for the 72 households of St Michael’s Gate.”
Council cabinet member for housing Cllr Peter Hiller said: “I think it’s important to recognise that the vast majority of private landlords are decent, conscientious people who value their reliable tenancies, but I welcome any initiative to end uncertainty for good tenants.”
However, the announcement was strongly criticised by the National Landlords Association which said the Government should reform the court system for before making the change to tenancies.