No-fault evictions put households at risk of homelessness over 80,000 times since Tory ban pledge

It’s now five years to the day since the Conservatives promised to get rid of no-fault evictions and the failure to do so has put more than 80,000 households at risk of homelessness over the last five years.

In total, households have contacted local authorities for support to avoid homelessness after receiving a Section 21 eviction notice 84,650 times since Theresa May announced they would be scrapped, analysis of government data from Homeless Link and the Renters’ Reform Coalition found. This is the equivalent of 52 households being threatened with homelessness per day.

The Renters Reform Bill is intended to finally remove no-fault evictions, which allow landlords to evict tenants without giving a reason, and it will return to parliament after the Easter recess. Housing secretary Michael Gove has promised the government will make no-fault evictions history by the general election.

But the long-delayed legislation is set to be “watered down”, a leaked letter from levelling up minister Jacob Young recently revealed.

Tom Darling, campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “It is absurd that the government has now officially taken five years to deliver these basic reforms – that’s longer than Brexit took!

“The delays as the government have played politics on this issue, making concessions to water down protections for renters, have led to real human suffering and damage – as evidenced by the nearly 100,000 private renting households who have faced homelessness following section 21 notices. That’s not to mention millions of other renters who have been evicted but haven’t ended up calling their local authority to report that they are at risk of being out in the cold.

“Since this day in 2019, the proposals in this crucial legislation have only gotten weaker as the government have caved to landlord pressure and sold renters down the river. If they were serious about producing a ‘better deal for renters’, they would engage with renter groups about what is needed to fill the gaping holes in the bill. Sadly, we haven’t seen much of that – and the result will be many more made homeless because of England’s broken renting system.”

The government initially acted to remove no-fault evictions back in April 2019 after they were identified as a leading driver of homelessness. The pledge was then included in the 2019 Conservative manifesto.

But with another general election looming, there is still no date for the Renters Reform Bill to continue its journey through Parliament. The legislation is facing a race of time to make it into law before the UK goes to the polls.

Research from Shelter estimated around 75,000 no-fault evictions take place every year, suggesting that as many as 375,000 evictions could have taken place over the past five years.

For some renters, that means facing homelessness. Homeless Link found the number of Section 21 evictions leading to households being threatened with homelessness peaked between April and June 2023 at 6,830. That represented a 37% increase on the same time period in 2019 and a 330% increase on the same time period in 2020, when the gvernment put restrictions on evictions due to the pandemic. 

To prevent homelessness, the Renters’ Reform Coalition has urged ministers to increase eviction notice periods from two to four months to give renters enough time to find a suitable place to live. They have also called for a protected period of at least two years during which renters cannot be evicted under the new no fault grounds.

Homeless Link chief executive Rick Henderson said: “Everyone deserves a safe, secure place to live. It is clearly not right that someone can be evicted from their home for no reason with just two months notice. The government identified this in 2019, but its inaction has led to tens of thousands of households unnecessarily facing homelessness.  

“A huge shortage of genuinely affordable housing means when a household approaches their local authority with a Section 21 notice, and the local authority has a statutory duty to help them, often all they can do is try to keep them in that property, find them another private rented property or, as a last resort, place them in temporary accommodation at huge expense. Those who the local authority don’t have a duty to support tragically often end up sleeping rough.

“The reported watering down of the Renters Reform Bill will be devastating for renters and local authorities across the country. The government proved in the pandemic that it can take decisive action on this issue. It must now stand up to its back benchers and pass the Renters Reform Bill without the leaked amendments, fulfilling its now five-year-old promise.”

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