The housing secretary Michael Gove cannot guarantee that Section 21 evictions will be banned in England by the next general election.

The Tories first pledged to end Section 21 evictions in 2019, and Gove said the practice would be “outlawed” by the next election during an interview with BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg in February, but it is increasingly unlikely that will now be the case.

Gove told the Commons that he now “hopes” it becomes law but it was up to the House of Lords “to decide the rate of progress that we can make”.

MPs have this week debated the Renters (Reform) Bill, after the government was forced to water down some of the planned protections for renters, including original promises to abolish Section 21 evictions in England.

On Wednesday, MPs voted 287 to 144 in favour of the government plans for an indefinite delay to ending Section 21 evictions while the effects of the new tenancy system on the county courts are assessed.

A Labour amendment to ensure the abolition of Section 21 evictions would come into force on royal assent was also defeated by 282 votes to 158.

The Bill passed its third reading in the House of Commons and will now go to the House of Lords for further scrutiny.

Two month ago, Gove was asked by Laura Kuenssberg whether he could promise to have ended the practice of no-fault evictions for all renters by the election.

At the time, he said: “We will have outlawed it and we will have put the money into the courts in order to ensure they can enforce it.”

Asked this week whether he could repeat his promise, Gove said: “Everything depends on the House of Lords.

“My determination is to ensure that we get this bill on the statute book. But it’s up to the Lords to decide the rate of progress that we can make.

“If opposition parties are supportive – and I believe that while they have some quibbles, they are supportive of the essential principle that we’re bringing forward – then we can have Section 21 ended before the general election. That’s the aim.”

Gove said he would continue to argue for ending Section 21 evictions.

“It will be a judgement of the Lords as to how this bill progresses,” he added. “But I hope that we can get it on the statute book before the election.”

The Renters’ Reform Coalition, a campaign group of 20 housing charities and organisations, said the bill in its current form “will be a failure” and won’t deliver a fairer rental sector.

A statement from the coalition said: “The bill has been watered down again and again by the government, with several rounds of damaging concessions to backbench MPs that have fundamentally weakened it.

“The result of all the government’s backtracking is that we have now have a bill that abolishes Section 21 in name only.”

Labour said the Section 21 eviction ban promised in the Tory manifesto was “collapsing under the weight of vested interests” and called for the plan to be implemented immediately.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, backed the bill as it stands, saying it delivers a “fair deal for tenants and responsible landlords” and called for the legislation to pass through Parliament “in the interests of certainty for the sector”.

Isobel Thomson, chief executive of safeagent, commented: “We support the aims of the Bill but we need the detail surrounding the measures. Too many landlords will be reading about the changes the Bill will bring in and considering their position going forward, wondering should they remain in the sector. The detail would provide reassurance to them and also tenants.

“As ever, accredited agents will seek to reassure and inform but they need a timeline from Government for the changes to be implemented.”

Allison Thompson, national lettings managing director at Leaders Romans Group, remarked: “This amendment temporarily halts Section 21 evictions pending a comprehensive review of the court procedures for property repossessions, representing a prudent and effective strategy that balances the interests of both landlords and tenants. It should be recognised that tenants end approximately 90% of tenancies themselves.

“Among the 10% of tenancies terminated by landlords, only a small percentage utilise Section 21, generally in instances of ongoing anti-social behaviour or repeated rent defaults. This highlights that most landlords employ Section 21 evictions as a last resort, primarily to ensure they can reclaim their properties when absolutely necessary.”

Gary Scott, a specialist in property disputes and partner at city law firm Spector Constant & Williams, added: “Despite criticism from some sectors, the Government has added an amendment to the Bill to ensure that so called ‘no-fault’ evictions will not end until the Court System can cope with the newly proposed system.

“This is an essential practical step which would otherwise mean the Court system as it stands would be completely overwhelmed with the vast number of new claims which it would be required to handle. The result would be a complete breakdown of the system. It is already taking up to a year to process a straightforward possession claim. Adding thousands more cases will break the current system.

“Court reform was always said to be a prerequisite to this change and it should be no surprise that this amendment has been added. It is, however, disappointing that there has been no announcement of a timeframe or any indication of the steps being taken toward such court reform.”

Industry responds to next phase and reading of the Renters (Reform) Bill