Increase in 'no fault' evictions
More homes were repossessed by landlords through controversial 'Section 21' legislation in Sunderland last year – ahead of Government plans to abolish it.
Tomorrow, the Government announced so-called 'no-fault' evictions would be abolished as part of the Renters' (Reform) Bill.
But new figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) show 19 evictions in the city were made using the orders in the year to March – compared to nine the previous year.
The number of repossessions through Section 21 has nearly doubled nationally – rising to 8,048 in the year to March, compared to 4,026 in the year to March 2022.
Separate figures from DLUHC, show 5,120 households were re-homed by local authorities –37 of them in Sunderland.
Section 21 enables private landlords to repossess their properties from shorthold tenants without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant – hence the term ‘nofault’ eviction.
Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, called the bill a "breakthrough".
She said: "Private renters have been waiting a long time to see unfair ‘no-fault’ evictions abolished.
"Since the Government first promised to do this in 2019, 61,000 households have had to face the fear and panic Section 21 evictions cause."
But she warned: “For the Bill to work, loopholes cannot be created for unfair evictions to carry on via the backdoor.
"The Government must ensure when landlords do seek to take their property back that they provide sufficient proof their intentions are legitimate, notice periods are long enough to protect tenants from homelessness, and there are big penalties for misuse.”
Dan Wilson Craw, acting director of Generation Rent, a campaign group which represents private renters, described the Bill as a "positive step", but said it needs robust safeguards to prevent abuse by landlords.
A DLUHC spokesperson said: “Our reforms will abolish Section 21 evictions – giving tenants more security and empowering them to challenge unfair rent increases.
“Only a minority of evictions end up in the courts but we’re reforming the process to reduce delays, ensuring the new tenancy systems works for landlords and tenants."