Government seeking to tackle sharp rise in no-fault evictions

THE number of Leicestershire households threatened with homelessness as a result of “no-fault” evictions doubled since the pandemic.

The figures are revealed as the government seeks to address the problem through its newly-announced Renters Reform Bill.

In just three months, between October and December 2021, 90 households in the county were served with Section 21 orders, which allow a landlord to evict their tenant with just two months’ notice, without having to give any reason. That is the equivalent of one household a day.

It is also a 100 per cent increase on the 45 households served with a Section 21 order during the same threemonth period before the pandemic, according to latest figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

A household is classified as threatened with homelessness if people are at risk of losing their home in the next eight weeks.

Local authorities have a legal duty to help families and households to stay in their homes or find somewhere new to live.

In total, 467 households lost their homes in Leicestershire last winter.

Across England, there were 5,260 no-fault evictions between October and December, a 37 per cent increase compared with the same period in 2019.

In the Queen’s Speech earlier this month, the government unveiled the Renters’ Reform Bill, which aims to protect private renters by abolishing no-fault evictions.

Landlords will now need to give a valid reason to evict a tenant and an ombudsman will be introduced so that disputes between private landlords and tenants can be resolved without going to court.

The Bill is said to introduce stronger possession grounds when there are repeated incidences of rent arrears, and reduce notice periods when there is antisocial behaviour to “strengthen landlords’ rights of possession”, says the government.

A briefing document surrounding the new Bill said abolishing Section 21 notices will empower renters to “challenge poor practice and unfair rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction”. Homelessness charity Shelter fears the cost-of-living crisis means many renters will be unable to cover the unexpected costs of finding a new home, like putting down a deposit or paying rent in advance. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “These are real people who’ve been chewed up and spat out by our broken private renting system, and now face an uphill battle to find somewhere to call home again. “Our emergency helpline is inundated with calls from people whose lives have been thrown into chaos by unexpected and unfair evictions. Nofault evictions are blunt, brutal, and indiscriminate. England’s 11 million private renters have waited long enough for a fairer system.”

A separate poll carried out by YouGov with Shelter suggests that nearly 230,000 private renters have been served with formal no-fault eviction notices. That equates to one renter every seven minutes.

In total, government data shows 33,800 households became homeless in England last winter. That includes 8,410 families with children - a rise of 18 per cent in a year that puts family homelessness back at pre-pandemic levels.

A spokesman for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “The Homelessness Reduction Act has prevented over 475,000 households from becoming homeless or supported them to settled accommodation since 2018 and we’re building on that success with £316 million funding this year.

“We are bringing forward reforms to support renters, including ending Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.”

These are real people who’ve been chewed up and spat out by our broken private renting system. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter