Calls for help after big rise in ‘brutal’ no-fault evictions

Time for ministers to help blameless families, says homelessness charity

THE number of Staffordshire families threatened with homelessness as a result of ‘no-fault’ evictions has rocketed compared to pre-pandemic levels.

Between October and December 2021, 73 households in our area 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 being threatened with homelessness through no fault of their own almost every day.

It was also a 62 per cent increase on the 45 households served with a Section 21 order during the same three-month period before the pandemic, according to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

The total included 31 households in Stoke-on-trent, up from 24 over the same period in 2019. There were two in Newcastle, and eight in the Staffordshire Moorlands.

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, 445 households were owed a homelessness relief duty in Staffordshire between October and December.

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

Now, homelessness charity Shelter is calling for the Government to make good on its promise to ban no-fault evictions. A bill was included in the Queen’s Speech this month.

It 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.

Chief executive Polly Neate 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.

“If landlords follow the process, as it stands they can turf people out of their homes for no reason – and tenants are powerless to do anything about it.

“No-fault evictions are blunt, brutal, and indiscriminate.

“England’s 11 million private renters have waited long enough for a fairer system.”

A separate poll by Yougov with Shelter suggests nearly 230,000 private renters have been served with formal no-fault eviction notices: one 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 and puts family homelessness back at pre-pandemic levels.

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, said: “These figures show the action we’re taking to tackle homelessness is already having an impact - 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.

“The Government is providing a £22 billion package to help households with rising costs and we will bring forward reforms to support renters, including ending Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions.”

Anyone who is in danger of homelessness can obtain free and expert advice from Shelter at shelter.org.uk/get_help.