The Elected Mayor of Watford has called for the Government to do more in protecting private renters.

Liberal Democrat Peter Taylor said Whitehall must “go further” to preserve the rights of tenants after it introduced measures to stop landlords evicting people without good reason.

The Government announced that it was scrapping Section 21 notices yesterday (April 16) but the mayor said longer tenancies should also be considered.

Watford Observer:

Peter Taylor

Watford has seen a large rise in people living in the private rented sector, with over 30 per cent of the town’s population living in rented accommodation.

Mayor Taylor said: “I welcome the Government’s announcement that it is taking action to scrap Section 21 notices. The threat of eviction result all too often in tenants being too scared to complain about poor living conditions for fear of being evicted by their landlord.

“However, this Government must go further to protect the rights of renters, including introducing measures to ensure longer tenancies to give renters more stability. As a council, we work hard to root out and prosecute rouge landlords who fail to follow the rules, but the Government must do more to support and protect renters.”