Labour is calling on the government to draw up emergency measures to protect renters beyond June as polling shows up to 1.7 million people in the private sector fear that they will lose their jobs this summer. Dire economic forecasts released this week, including a Bank of England warning that the country faces its worst recession in 300 years, has prompted Labour to rapidly escalate its call for current protections for the rented sector, like the three-month ban on evictions in England and Wales, to be extended. People should be given two years to pay back rent arrears accrued because of the coronavirus crisis, Labour has suggested, in a five-point plan due to be presented to the government. Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow secretary of state for housing, said: “Current protections for people renting their homes are woefully inadequate. Unless the government acts now, many thousands of tenants will be at risk of losing their homes.” She warned of an “unprecedented and devastating spike” in homelessness unless action is taken soon. YouGov polling for the charity Shelter found that one in five private renters in England – an estimated 1.7 million adults – say they are likely to lose their job in the next three months because of coronavirus. The housing charity is warning that a growing number of people will need to rely on welfare benefits for the first time to cover their basic costs. The government banned any new evictions of private rented sector tenants for three months in March as part of the emergency coronavirus laws drawn up at the start of the crisis. This runs out at the end of June, but the communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, has hinted it could be extended. The lord chief justice is looking at putting a “pre-action protocol” in place to avoid a flurry of eviction proceedings starting on the day the moratorium is lifted, by making it so that landlords have a duty to try to reach an agreement on how rent owed would be paid back without resorting to court. Debbonaire said: “The government has paused evictions for three months and answered Labour’s call to increase the local housing allowance. Both are welcome, but do not go far enough. “It will take time for people to recover from this crisis and they need all the support we can give them to prevent what would be an unprecedented and devastating spike in homelessness. “In the long term we need to fix the housing crisis – with stronger rent regulations and much more affordable and social housing – so that everyone has a home that is safe, secure, environmentally sustainable, and that they can afford to live in. What we need right now is an emergency package to set us on that path.” Labour’s five-point plan calls for an extension to the temporary ban on evictions for six months or however long is needed to implement the legal changes. They are also asking the government to bring forward its proposal to scrap section 21 “no-fault” evictions and outlaw evictions on the grounds of rent arrears if the arrears were accrued because of hardship caused by the coronavirus crisis. Once evictions are prevented, they would like ministers to grant renters at least two years to pay back any arrears accrued during this period. Residential tenants should be given the same protections as commercial tenants, to prevent them being made bankrupt by their landlords for non-payment of rent. Labour also wants to see quicker management of universal credit claims and for the government to consider a temporary increase to the local housing allowance available to certain renters. It was raised once already in April. Under the Coronavirus Act 2020, most landlords will not be able to start possession proceedings unless they have given their tenants three months’ notice. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Emergency legislation is now in place so no renter can be forced out of their home during this difficult time – landlords cannot evict for at least three months. We will keep this under review and can extend if necessary. “We are also supporting business to continue paying their staff, investing £7bn in the welfare system and increasing local housing allowance, which will help tenants pay their rent.”