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Campaigners are calling on the government to allow rents to be capped within tenancies as a key bill returns to the Commons

More than 30 MPs have backed an amendment to the Renters’ Rights Bill which, if passed, would restrict how much landlords can raise rents on sitting tenants by limiting percentage increases to inflation or average wage growth – whichever is lowest.

The bill, which was first proposed by the Conservatives, promises to abolish Section 21 “no-fault evictions”, the legal mechanism that allows landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason.

Section 21 notices have been identified as a key driver of homelessness by housing charities including Shelter, which says about 500 renters receive a no-fault eviction every day.

However, campaigners have expressed concern that if Section 21 notices are banned, landlords will use other means to evict tenants, including by pricing out tenants with rent hikes.

A reprieve for Reeves?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves may be delivered a brief reprieve if initial market performance continues throughout the day. Things have not got worse. 

A week of market turbulence called into question Ms Reeves’s political future, but on Tuesday morning the pound recovered some loss and ticked up to $1.22. It’s still near the 14-month low hit on Monday. 

Government borrowing costs dipped. The interest rate on benchmark 10-year government debt fell but still remains around levels previously seen around the 2008 global financial crisis. Longer-term 30-year borrowing costs are still near the mid-1998 high seen on Monday despite a dip this morning. 

It’s a similar story on the UK stock market – the FTSE 100 index of the London Stock Exchange’s most valuable companies rose 0.08% but has yet to recover from falls at the end of last week.

High street sports retailer JD Sport is the biggest loser of the morning with its share price down a whopping 9.97%. It issued a Christmas trading update saying it “chose not to participate in what was a more promotional environment in the period than we anticipated”. 

It’ll profit less than first thought as “market headwinds were higher than we anticipated” and are expected to continue into 2025. More people shopped in store and shoe sales outperformed clothes, the chain said. 

The more domestic-comprised FTSE 250 index was up 0.59%, failing to make up for last week’s losses. 

It’s not an immediate concern for the government but rising oil prices could be visible to motorists in a week or so and could be another force pushing up inflation. A barrel of Brent crude, the leading measure of oil prices, has gone 10% higher in the first weeks of 2025 and is now up to $81.07.