No-fault evictions up by 41% in a year

The number of households in England removed from their homes by court bailiffs as a result of no-fault evictions has risen by 41% in a year, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice.

Between April and June 2023, 2,228 households were evicted by bailiffs because of a Section 21 no-fault eviction, up from 1,578 households in the same quarter last year.

21,332 households have been kicked out of their homes by bailiffs since the government first promised to ban no-fault evictions in 2019.

Private landlords started 7,491 court claims to evict their tenants under Section 21 this quarter, up 35% in a year, putting thousands more renters at risk of homelessness.

Section 21 evictions are a major contributing factor to rising homelessness because they allow landlords to evict tenants with only two months’ notice and they don’t have to give a reason. 24,060 households were threatened with homelessness as a result of a Section 21 no-fault evictions in the past year – up 21% compared to the previous 12 months.

The government first promised to scrap no-fault evictions in 2019. This May it finally published its Renters (Reform) Bill to enable this, but the Bill has since failed to progress through Parliament. Campaigners are urging the government to urgently prioritise its progress as soon as it returns from recess in September.

Polly Neate, chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter, said: ‘With private rents reaching record highs and no-fault evictions continuing to rise, hundreds of families risk being thrown into homelessness every day.

‘Landlords can too easily use and abuse the current system. Some will hike up the rent and if their tenants can’t pay, they will slap them with a no-fault eviction notice and find others who can. We speak to renters all the time who feel like they have zero control over their own lives because the threat of eviction is constantly hanging over them.

‘The Renters Reform Bill will make renting more secure, and for those who live in fear of the bailiffs knocking at their door, these changes can’t come soon enough. The moment Parliament resumes, the government must get rid of no-fault evictions which have made the prospect of a stable home little more than a fantasy for England’s 11 million private renters.’

Image: Michal B

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