Coronavirus: Johnson pledges law to protect renters

The government would bring forward emergency legislation to protect private renters from eviction if they fell ill with the coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Wednesday.

He was challenged by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to protect tenants, who were not mentioned in a £350bn rescue package announced by Finance Minister Rishi Sunak on Tuesday.

Corbyn said private tenants needed to be protected in the interests of public health and "don't feel forced to go to work in order to avoid eviction". There have also been calls for the government to do more to protect gig economy workers who have virtually no employment rights and raise statutory sick pay – one of the lowest rates in Europe.

Sunak pledged mortgage "holidays", £330bn in loans and £20bn in other aid to help companies combat the economic impact of the pandemic.

Speaking in parliament at Prime Minister's Questions, Johnson said he would bring forward legislation to protect private renters from eviction, but would also avoid "pass[ing] on the problem" by "taking steps to protect other actors in the economy", a suggestion that landlords would not be left out of pocket.

Corbyn also asked Johnson if he would increase beyond its current level of £94 a week, planning to bring forward "further measures to support workers of all kinds throughout this crisis", adding that there were also plans to help those on zero-hours contracts who do not get statutory sick pay.

“Of course we will ensure nobody is penalised for doing the right thing protecting themselves and other members of society. Since the state is after all making demands of the public and of business it is only right we should be doing whatever it takes to support the workers of this country throughout this crisis," he said.

Earlier in the day Business Secretary Alok Sharma refused to answer questions on the low level of sick pay when challenged on whether he expected families to survive on it.

Unions and Labour have already called for the rate - not available to the self-employed or the lowest earners - to be raised and brand it one of the least generous in Europe.

"Ultimately what we want to make sure is that we are protecting people’s jobs," Sharma said, as the Citizens Advice charity called for the rate to be almost doubled to £180 a week temporarily to help people through the outbreak.

Policy manager Joe Lane told MPs on the Commons Work and Pensions Committee it was "irresponsible" that people couldn't make ends meet.

“We think there’s a very good case that both statutory sick pay and the core element of Universal Credit need to be significantly increased temporarily to help people manage time off work because of coronavirus."

He said people will be facing higher costs if they self-isolate thanks to higher heating bills and feeding their kids.

“Our initial modelling suggests that figure would be around £180 a week," he said. “That’s based on some careful modelling of the costs people will face, as well as analysis of our own data on what people need in order to make ends meet.”

James Taylor of disability charity Scope said the government’s £350bn bailout measures “don’t go far enough".

He told MPs he had a lodger who used to earn £1,600 a month but went off sick on £94.25 a week. “She was forced to sell lots of her personal possessions to get by, forced to go back to work, ended up having to take more time off,” he said.