Eviction rates surge as government reforms stall again
The number of private rented households repossessed by bailiffs in England following section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions reached 2,671 in the last quarter – a rise of 39% in a year and the highest quarterly figure since 2018.
Meanwhile the Renters (Reform) Bill, which will eventually outlaw no-fault evictions, continues to be delayed with serious concerns it won’t become law before the general election. The Bill was introduced in May last year and is currently awaiting the report stage in the House of Commons.
Commons Leader Penny Mordaunt announced last week that the government is prioritising the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill, which has now overtaken the Renters (Reform) Bill despite only being introduced on 27th November.
Shadow Commons Leader Lucy Powell commented in response that the Renters (Reform) Bill was ‘missing’ and ‘Report Stage was promised by early February but is nowhere to be seen’.
The number of section 21 claims taken to court by landlords reached 7,527 last quarter, a 23% rise year-on-year, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice.
The total number of section 21 claims taken to court since 2019 – when the government first promised to deliver a ‘better deal for renters’ and ban the practice – now stands at 88,965.
As the majority of section 21 evictions are not contested and therefore do not end up in court, the real number of no-fault evictions issued to tenants will have been many times higher. Polling by Shelter estimates that 172 families a day are served a Section 21.
Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: ‘It’s barely believable that against an escalating evictions and homelessness crisis we have a government slow-walking one of the only policy levers they say will address the issue – not to mention that they first promised to abolish no-fault evictions five years ago. We are now very concerned this vital legislation won’t get passed before the election – if it doesn’t, it would be an outrageous betrayal of England’s 11 million private renters.’
Ben Twomey, chief executive of campaign group Generation Rent, said: ‘Today sees the continuation of an awful trend that has been blighting the lives of renters across our country. As long as landlords can evict tenants through no fault of their own with just two months’ notice, homelessness in England will continue to soar.
‘Renters have been waiting five years since the government promised to end these evictions, and yet today we find out the government is delaying their plans again. Since that promise, almost 90,000 households have been forced out because of no-fault evictions – and this number is rising every day. In fact, since the law to change this was last debated in parliament, we estimate that 5,891 more households have faced Section 21 eviction in the courts.
‘How can the government stand by while thousands of us are turfed from our homes? The Renters (Reform) Bill must be brought back to the Commons as soon as possible to end these appalling evictions. England’s 12 million private renters cannot be made to wait any longer.’
Image: Allan Vega
Statutory homelessness soars as government continues to delay ‘no fault’ evictions ban