The outgoing chief executive of Shelter claims tenants “are being marched out of their homes in their thousands.”
Polly Neate says government data released over the weekend shows 2,830 households in England were removed from their homes by bailiffs as a result of a Section 21 no-fault eviction between July and September – up 23% in a year.
The figures from the Ministry of Justice also show 8,425 landlords in England started Section 21 eviction proceedings against their tenants during the same period, the highest number in eight years.
Neate claims S21 evictions are “a major reason for households being threatened with homelessness as they allow landlords to evict tenants with just two months’ notice, with no reason given.”
She says the government should strengthen the Renters Rights Bill – shortly having its Third Reading in the Commons.
Neate says: “With renters being marched out of their homes in their thousands, passing the Renter’s Rights Bill and closing the book on the gross injustice of no fault evictions can’t come soon enough
“The Bill represents a welcome new chapter for tenants.
“But, with landlords allowed to hike up rents on a whim as a way of pricing current tenants out of their homes, renters will continue to live in fear even after Section 21 is scrapped.
“If the government wants the Renter’s Rights Bill to be truly transformative, it must go further. Rent increases during tenancies must be capped in line with inflation or wage growth to make renting safer, secure, and more affordable.”
Shelter also claims 60,000 renters have been “forced out of their homes by a rent hike they couldn’t afford in the past year.”
This article is taken from Landlord Today