The Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that tenants will be protected from eviction following questioning by opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn.

It comes after mounting pressure from consumer groups to offer tenants similar protections to the mortgage payment holidays that the chancellor announced for home owners last night.

Campaigners will be hoping that the chancellor Rishi Sunak unveils a wider package of support for renters in his daily press briefing with the PM later today.

Johnson told Parliament: “I can confirm that we will be bringing forward legislation to protect private renters from eviction.”

He also promised that the government would “take steps to protect other actors in the economy”, to ensure that difficulties facing one group are not passed on to another, perhaps suggesting there might be support for struggling landlords in the future.

The announcement comes after Generation Rent warned that tenants need rent relief and a halt on evictions as they are particularly exposed to the impact of the coronavirus crisis.