The Know Daily - Monday 12 February 2024

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The number of wild numbats (not a typo) in Western Australia is much higher than previously thought, a new study has found. The small marsupials - also known as banded anteaters - are critically endangered, so this development has given conservationists cause for celebration.

🏡 Reform for renters

No-fault evictions will be banned in England by the next general election, Housing Secretary Michael Gove has pledged. 

What’s the background?
Gove’s comments - made on the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme - come despite “repeated delays” to legislation that would outlaw the practice of no-fault evictions, said The Independent. 

While the Renters (Reform) Bill is currently making its way through parliament, ministers had “come under fire” in recent days from housing campaigners who say that change is not happening fast enough, noted The Guardian.

So what has Gove now pledged?
Last year, Gove told Conservative MPs that no fault-evictions would not be abolished until the court system was reformed. But on Sunday, he said that his party will have “outlawed” the practice by the time of the next election, and “put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they can enforce that”. 

So what would the bill do?
Under the Renters (Reform) Bill, landlords would only be able to evict tenants in England under “certain circumstances”, explained the BBC. This includes when landlords wish to sell a property or when they or a close family member want to move in. 

Section 21 notices - which allow landlords to remove tenants for no reason with only two months’ notice - are a “major driver of homelessness”, noted The Guardian. Figures released last week showed a “surge” in no-fault evictions, with the number of households repossessed after receiving a section 21 notice rising by 49% last year.