No-fault eviction notice served every seven minutes

New research from Shelter shows that every seven minutes a private renter in England is handed a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice by their landlord.

The findings into no-fault evictions, which give tenants just two months to leave their home without any reason for eviction, come despite a government promise to scrap them three years ago.

Nearly 230,000 private renters have been served with a formal no-fault eviction notice since the government first committed to scrap this unfair form of eviction in April 2019. This is despite an eviction ban being in place for 14 months of this three-year period due to the pandemic.

Shelter is urging the government to deliver on its long overdue promise to scrap no-fault evictions as new figures from the charity’s YouGov poll reveal a quarter of all private renters (2.8 million people) have had three or more private rented homes in the last five years. The figure for renting families with children is one in five.

Losing a private tenancy is the second biggest cause of homelessness in England, and the cost-of-living crisis could push even more private renters to the brink.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “It’s appalling that every seven minutes another private renter is slapped with a no-fault eviction notice despite the government promising to scrap these grossly unfair evictions three years ago. It’s no wonder many renters feel forgotten. Millions of private renters are living in limbo – never truly able to settle - in case their landlord kicks them out on a whim. It’s a well-founded fear as our frontline services support renters all the time who are scrambling to find a home after being told to up sticks with just two months’ notice.

“With inflation and bills skyrocketing, renters desperately need a secure home as many will struggle to stump up the costs of having to move unexpectedly. To give private renters stability during a time of deep uncertainty, the government must introduce a Renters’ Reform Bill that bans no-fault evictions this year. Anything less would be a kick in the teeth for England’s 11 million private renters.”