Landlords will be banned from evicting tenants during the coronavirus “national emergency” after the government rushed through legislation to help renters who may face financial difficulties as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Tenants in England will have more powers to hold landlords who rent out substandard properties to account later this month as the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act comes into force.

The government has been urged to implement pro-private rental sector policies in April’s Budget in order to promote long term investment in the private rental sector and reduce costs for tenants.

The new Conservative government has abolished no-fault evictions and introduced lifetime deposits under new legislation aimed at improving the rental market in England.

The majority of tenants are happy to keep renting, with older renters the least interested in buying a house in the near future, a new survey has revealed.

Landlords are charging tenants with pets up to £50 a month extra in a bid to recoup losses following the ban on letting fees and the cap on five-week deposits.

Private tenants are happy in their rented homes, are staying longer and are paying less for them, according to new official figures.

Millions of renters are at risk of financial difficulties because they are not sufficiently insured, according to a new report.

Letting agents are being urged to be vigilant and use only bonafide reference companies as new data reveals fake or fraudulent rental applications have risen by 117% in the past 12 months.

Plans to introduce a scheme that would allow deposits to move between landlords instead of tenants putting down cash lump sum at the beginning of each tenancy, are being proposed by the government.