There are fears that hundreds of people currently renting homes in Liverpool could face the prospect of becoming homeless when a ban on evictions is lifted today.
The evictions ban was put in place to stop people being kicked out of their rented homes during the coronavirus crisis - in which many people have lost jobs and fallen on hard times.
But that ban is set to be lifted today and people across the country who have built up rent arrears during the crisis are fearing being forced from their homes and potentially onto the streets.
The Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimates that 1 million households are concerned about possible eviction in the next three months, half of them families with children.
As a city, Liverpool's economy has been rocked by the impact of the virus and successive lockdowns.
Liverpool's economy is heavily reliant on many of the industries that were worst affected by the shutdowns - such as hospitality, tourism and events.
Walton MP Dan Carden said that if the government presses ahead with lifting the evictions ban at this time it will be "complicit in throwing people onto the streets."
He said: "Ending the ban on evictions now, without any action to deal with the crisis in families’ finances from lost income and increased personal debt and rent arrears will have devastating consequences.
"In the last year people have lost their jobs, lost income and lost loved ones. Now the one safety net they had, that they would not lose their home, is to be cut from beneath them. The cruelty of this can’t be overstated.
"The government has no plan for supporting people and communities through the looming disaster of further job losses and a long term lack of income.
"If government presses ahead, Ministers will be complicit in throwing families onto the streets."
At the start of the crisis, the government supported local councils to find accommodation for homeless people and rough sleepers in order to try and protect them from the virus.
Michelle Langan, who runs Liverpool homeless charity The Papercup Project said that the good results seen from that initiative could all be undone by the ending of the evictions ban in the city.
She said: "We always knew that the eviction ban would come to an end at some point, and it is a worry that the combination of the ban ending, along with many losing their jobs during the pandemic, will result in a spike of people who find themselves newly homeless.
"The government's initiative of 'Everyone In' during lockdown saw some good rates of success tackling the issue of homelessness, and rough sleepers and hidden homeless were able to access support that wasn't always previously available to them.
"We are prepared that we may start seeing people new to the streets over the next few weeks, and we advise anyone who fears they may be at risk of losing their home to seek advice and assistance - from citizens advice or local organisations like Merseyside Law Centre.
"Early intervention is crucial to prevent people ending up in temporary accommodation or worse still, sleeping rough."
The Labour Party has been repeatedly calling for a change of approach from government.
Shadow Housing Secretary Lucy Powell said: “Labour has warned time and again that ending the evictions ban in this way is gambling with people’s livelihoods and life chances. The Housing Secretary must keep his promise that nobody will lose their home because of Coronavirus.
“Ministers should work with us to bring forward emergency legislation to end Section 21 ‘no fault evictions’ now.
"Instead the government has kicked its key manifesto pledge to protect renters into the long grass. Now, they’re stripping away emergency protections without any plan to prevent an evictions crisis.”
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