A NEW alliance has been formed to protect renters from eviction and to keep people in jobs through the Covid-19 crisis.

Lord John Bird, founder of street magazine The Big Issue, launches the initiative today with a warning that hundreds of thousands of people are facing homelessness unless the government takes action.

Creating new jobs and building social housing must be the cornerstone of recovery from the crisis, he said.

The Ride Out Recession Alliance, supported by homelessness charity Shelter and the Generation Rent campaign, called on the government to implement preventative measures, including keeping a ban on evictions until the law is changed to protect renters from losing their home due to the coronavirus crisis.

It also urged ministers to launch a rescue package to stimulate the economy, including a new era of social homebuilding, and to provide job training and investment in companies to provide decent employment opportunities.

Lord Bird said it was imperative that the ban on evictions is extended beyond the end of August, while magistrates should be given the power to refuse to issue eviction notices involving anyone affected by Covid-19.

“This is about making sure we don’t condemn hundreds of thousands of people to homelessness,” he said.

“This will be a cost-saving exercise, because it is far more expensive to deal with homelessness than working to prevent it.”

Shelter chief executive Polly Neate said: “Decades of failure to build the social homes we need has led to increases in homelessness and too many people living in unsafe accommodation.

“This includes many heroes of the pandemic who worked tirelessly to keep this country going.”