Another extension to the eviction ban announced today shows that the government is “unwilling to listen to the voices of those most affected”, landlords have warned.

The ban on evictions for renters and businesses that has been in place since March 2020 has been extended numerous times through subsequent lockdowns and was due to end at the end of this month.

It has now been extended until May 31 with restrictions tapering off from June, according to the government.

But Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association warned that the extension would do “nothing to help those landlords and tenants financially hit due to the pandemic.”

“If the Chancellor wants to avoid causing a homelessness crisis, he must develop an urgent financial package including interest free, government guaranteed loans to help tenants in arrears to pay off rent debts built since March 2020,” he said.

“This is vital for those who do not qualify for benefit support. Without this, more tenants face losing their homes, and many will carry damaged credit scores, making it more difficult to rent in the future and causing huge pressure on local authorities when they can least manage it.”

Timothy Douglas, policy and campaigns manager at ARLA Propertymark echoed these calls for additional support.

He said: “As the impact of Covid continues to bite with household debt and unemployment rates rising, we remain concerned about how tenants will avoid future rent arrears and landlords will remain incentivised to stay in the market.

“Rather than short term measures that are not helping those renters that need it most, the UK Government must focus on providing long-term support to help renters clear the debt and arrears they have built up during the pandemic.”

Today’s announcement means that landlords will still be required to give residential tenants six months notice prior to eviction until the end of May, apart from in exceptional circumstances. The ban on using bailiffs will also continue until the same date, and restrictions on evicting commercial tenants will stay in place until the end of June.

Mitigating circumstances to bring forward evictions include antisocial behaviour, false statements from the tenant, or a breach of immigration rule with regards to the Right To Rent policy.

Previously renters were protected from eviction if they had built up rent arrears during the pandemic but the law was changed in January to say that landlords could start eviction proceedings against tenants who have accrued “extreme rent arrears equivalent to six months’ rent at any time.

The Government has come under pressure to help renters after figures show that more than one in seven London tenants have fallen behind on rent during the pandemic. It’s estimated that the number of private renters falling into arrears nationwide could reach 700,000 by November.

A study by Citizens Advice found that average rent arrears were £720 but more than half of those in arrears would be helped out of debt by a grant of just £600.