The government could shelve private rented sector reforms that would have banned landlords from evicting tenants without giving a proper reason.

In a white paper presented to parliament in June, former housing secretary Michael Gove said the Renters Reform Bill would fill the government’s manifesto commitment to replace section 21 ‘no fault’ eviction notices with a modern tenancy system that would give renters peace of mind.

Just over a fifth of private tenants who moved from privately rented accommodation between 2019 and 2020 did not choose to end their tenancy, including 8% who were asked to leave by their landlord.

However, government sources have told The Times that the reform is not considered a priority and could be shelved altogether.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities told the Gazette that it does not comment on leaked documents but a fair deal for renters remains a priority and next steps for the rental market are being carefully considered.

A spokesperson said: ‘The government is committed to exploring policies that build the homes people need, deliver new jobs, support economic development and boost local economies.'

Under the modern tenancy system proposed by Gove, tenants who would previously have had an assured tenancy or assured shorthold tenancy would be moved on to a single system of periodic tenancies. Tenants would need to provide two months’ notice when leaving a tenancy. Landlords would only be able to evict a tenant in reasonable circumstances, which will be defined in law.

Grounds for possession would also be reformed, with new grounds for landlords wishing to sell their property and a mandatory ground for serious repeated rent arrears being introduced.

In an open letter to housing secretary Simon Clarke today, Simon Mullings and Patricia Tueje, co-chairs of the Housing Law Practitioners Association, said: 'Immediate steps to prevent unmanageable quantities of evictions and homelessness are required urgently. But structural reforms and support for renters and borrowers must also be put in place in the medium to long term.

'One step short of a moratorium would be to suspend operations of mandatory grounds for possession (including "no fault" evictions given that they are one the major causes of family homelessness). Proceedings would go ahead but judges would have the ability to consider whether a possession order was reasonable in all the circumstances. We think such a step on its own falls well short of what is needed but it would at least mean that tenants and borrowers would have fair judicial consideration of their circumstances.

'What we are sure of is that doing nothing at this moment of crisis, and the breaking of the three-year-old commitment on "no fault" evictions would be a total abnegation of leadership and responsibility.'