“The cost of renting crisis continues to cut deep and these enormous moving costs can be the difference between renters finding a new home or finding themselves out on the streets. The government must use the opportunity of the Renters’ Rights Bill to compensate evicted renters by making landlords waive the last two months’ rent, so we have the breathing space to make the savings we need to keep a roof over our heads.”
No-fault evictions have long been considered a leading driver of homelessness.
As private rents have skyrocketed to new record highs – up 8.4% in the year up to August 2024 according to the Office for National Statistics – tenants have been counting the cost.
That has had a knock-on effect on homelessness.
Annual statutory homelessness statistics revealed 13,570 households in England faced homelessness in 2023-24 because their landlord wished to re-let their property. This would not be allowed under the Renters’ Rights Bill, according to the Renters Reform Coalition (RRC) – a group of pro-renter organisations including Generation Rent.
The figures also revealed 31,730 households faced homelessness due to their landlord wishing to sell their property. Under the new legislation, tenants will get more notice to move home but will still face steep financial costs.
Last week the RRC argued that the landlord should foot the bill. They said two months’ non-payment of rent at the end of a tenancy would reduce the number of evictions leading into homelessness and discourage rogue landlords trying to abuse new eviction grounds.
Two months’ worth of compensation at the average rent in England of £1,327 would cover the costs, they said.
The RRC also called for measures to protect renters from a no-fault eviction for the first two year of a tenancy and a cap on in-tenancy rent increases as part of a number of suggested improvements to the Renters’ Rights Bill.
Tom Darling, director of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, said: “It’s totally unjust that a renter can be evicted through absolutely no fault of their own and have to meet costs of more than two grand – this is just another factor in our broken renting system which contributes to homelessness and poverty.”
“We welcome the government’s Renters’ Rights Bill – the end of section 21 will mean greater security for millions of renters across England. But let’s be clear: no-fault evictions will continue. That’s why we’re calling on the government to go further and protect tenants against the ‘eviction tax’ through two month’s rent as compensation.”
Meanwhile, landlord groups have called for notice periods in the Renters’ Rights Bill to be cut.
The new law will increase the amount of arrears a tenant can build up from two months to three before landlords can serve an eviction notice to repossess the property.
The National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) argued that allowing tenants to build more arrears will make it impossible for some to pay off their debts and damage their credit rating.
Instead, the landlord lobby group wants the notice period to remain at two months and said landlords and letting agents should be required to work with tenants at the first sign of arrears building.
Ben Beadle, chief executive of the NRLA said: “Preventing rent arrears from building in the first place should be the priority for landlords and government, not allowing them to build yet further. Landlords should be making every effort to help tenants get on top of debts as early on as possible.
“However, landlords should rightly expect that they can swiftly regain possession of the properties they rent when tenants reach two months of arrears as at present. In no other walk of life would the government allow consumer debts to build for months on end with all the damage that can cause to their credit ratings.”
Big Issue is demanding an end to extreme poverty. Will you ask your MP to join us?
Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
