The number of no-fault evictions by bailiffs have hit a six-year high, prompting campaigners to make fresh calls for rental protections.
Between January and March this year, there were a total of 2,682 such evictions across England, the highest number since the first quarter in 2018, when 2,791 such court repossessions occurred, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice.
The number also represents a 19 percent increase on the first quarter in 2023, and a 157 percent jump from the first quarter in 2022.
Landlords can apply for an accelerated possession order if the tenants have not left by the date specified in a Section 21 notice.
Such notices, known as no-fault evictions, were due to be banned under the Renters Reform Bill but campaigners have criticised the government for watering down the strength of the legislation by adding an amendment that the courts must be deemed ready before the ban comes into force.
The plan for a ban was first announced in 2019 by then-Prime Minister Theresa May who said no-fault evictions are “unfair ” and have allowed responsible tenants to be “uprooted by their landlord with little notice, and often little justification.”
But the delay has prompted accusations that ministers have abandoned renters and conceded to “pro-landlord” Conservative MPs.
The bill is now in the House of Lords and had its second reading on Wednesday.
Polly Neate, chief executive of charity Shelter, said the bill is “in tatters” in its current form.
“Evictions are rocketing to new heights whilst this government has put the threats of a small group of self-interested landlord backbenchers over the safety and security of 11 million private renters,” she said.
“It’s been five years since the government pledged to rebalance the scales in private renting, and what do we have to show for it? A Renters Reform Bill, left in tatters, which will keep renters trapped in the same hellish conditions they’ve endured for decades, or abandon them to the whims of their landlords and the terrifying spectre of homelessness.”
The campaigner called on peers to overhaul the bill and “deliver the change that renters desperately need.”
“Without serious amendments to give tenants greater protection from eviction after moving in and longer notice periods, renters’ best hope of a stable home will be lost,” she said.
Figures published last month showed that in 2023 some 25,910 people were assessed as needing help for homelessness due to having had a Section 21 notice served on them—the highest number in the six years for which statistics are published on this measure.
Homelessness charity Crisis said tenants were “facing unimaginable stress and uncertainty” with Section 21s still in place.
Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at the charity, said the government “must give renters the protections they need to ensure that more and more people aren’t faced with the uncertainty of eviction and pushed into homelessness.”
Tom Darling, campaign manager of the Renters’ Reform Coalition, also called on peers to “fix the Bill and address our broken renting system.”
Housing minister Baroness Swinburne told the House of Lords during the bill’s second reading that the Government remained “committed to abolishing Section 21 as quickly as possible,” but reiterated that the courts must be ready for the change “so that landlords and tenants can benefit from a modern, efficient possession system.”
In a statement emailed to The Epoch Times, a government spokesperson said The Renters (Reform) Bill “will deliver the manifesto commitment to abolish Section 21 no-fault evictions.
“We are supporting renters and have increased the Local Housing Allowance so the 1.6 million private renters on Housing Benefit or Universal Credit are gaining an average of nearly £800 a year to help them pay their rent and meet their housing costs,” the spokesperson added.
