There have been more than 227,000 ‘no-fault’ evictions of tenants in
England over the last three years – which is one every seven minutes, a
charity is claiming.
However, the claim has been slammed as ‘scaremongering’ by one landlords’
association.
After carrying out a survey, the homelessness charity Shelter is demanding
that the government introduces its Renters Reform Bill which will see
section 21 no-fault eviction notices being abolished.
These ‘no-fault’ evictions are for when a landlord does not have to give a
reason to their tenant for ending the tenancy.
The government has said that it will be looking to ban the practice “as
soon as possible”.
Evicting tenants is ‘appalling’
The chief executive of Shelter, Polly Neate, says the situation of evicting
tenants is “appalling”.
She said: “Millions of renters live in limbo, never able to settle, in case
their landlord will kick them out on a whim.
“It’s appalling that a private renter is slapped with a no-fault eviction
notice every seven minutes, despite a government promise three years ago to
scrap grossly unfair evictions.”
Shelter says that the Queen’s Speech next month should contain a government
promise to deliver the long-promised Renters Reform Bill which will include
the banning of no-fault evictions.
This will also, she added, “Give tenants some stability during times of
uncertainty”.
Ms Neate said that with bills and inflation rising, tenants are needing to
secure a home desperately and many will struggle to pay their moving costs
if they have to move unexpectedly.
Plans to end unfair evictions
The government says that revealed its plans in April 2019 to end unfair
evictions and outlined its plans to abolish them.
And during the Covid-19 pandemic, the government imposed an evictions ban
that ran for 14 months and ended in May last year.
A government spokesman said that the reforms will be set out in its Private
Rented Sector White Paper, and this will be published as soon as possible.
The spokesperson added that the government is providing £22 billion to help
households deal with rising living costs and putting an average of £1,000
per year into working family pockets through direct support with bills and
Universal Credit.
Lived in at least three rented homes
Now a survey carried out by YouGov, reveals that around 2.8 million people,
or a quarter of private tenants, have lived in at least three rented homes
over the past five years.
One in five of the households who rent a home are families with children –
and Shelter says that it is concerned about the destabilising impact of
constantly having to move home is having on children.
In Scotland, new rules were unveiled in 2017 that require landlords to give
a reason when they end a tenancy.
And in 2021, a new law was passed in Wales that the amount of notice that
landlords must give a tenant was increased from two months to six months.
There’s also legislation going through the Northern Ireland assembly for
extending the notice period tenancies.
System that is workable and fair for landlords
The National Residential Landlords’ Association says that section 21
eviction notices must be replaced by a system that is both workable and
fair for landlords and tenants.
The NRLA’s chief executive, Ben Beadle, said: “Shelter needs to stop
scaremongering. The majority of landlords do not spend time plotting to get
rid of tenants for no reason.”
He pointed to government figures that show 10% of tenants who move home
will do so when asked by their letting agent or landlord.
And the number of section 21 cases coming to court has been dropping since
2015.
‘Government is committed to abolishing section 21’
Mr Beadle said: “The government is committed to abolishing section 21, but
it has got to be replaced with a system that is both workable and fair for
landlords and tenants.
“Getting rid of section 21 would, on its own, make it all but impossible to
take action against anti-social tenants who blight the lives of fellow
tenants and neighbours.”
The NRLA, which represents around 95,000 landlords, says it is looking to
publish plans for a new system and is urging Shelter to work with them.
The managing director of Accommodation for Students, Simon Thompson, said:
“Landlords have been patient and supportive during the Covid-19 lockdown
when evictions were banned and there will be landlords keen to get their
property back from tenants not paying rent or who are anti-social.
“Most landlords provide a safe and comfortable home for their tenants; most
tenants are happy with the property they rent but there needs to be a
system in place for dealing with those who are anti-social or not paying
rent. Without it, it’s likely lots of landlords will simply sell up and
leave the sector.”
High demand forcing tenants to pay above the going rate
Meanwhile, it has been revealed that high demand is forcing 15% of tenants
to pay above the going rate in a bid to secure a rental property.
According to The Deposit Protection Service, average rents in the UK have
risen for the sixth consecutive quarter.
And, they say, there’s evidence that some tenants are now paying above the
going rate so they can secure a home.
The average rent in the UK is now £849 a month, that’s a 1.8% rise on the
last quarter of 2021.
It’s also a 6.1% rise in the first quarter of last year.
The organisation’s managing director, Matt Trevett, said that consistent
rent rises every quarter, and a survey that found that tenants are
overpaying to secure a home, underlines the intense demand for rental homes
in the UK.
He also pointed to the ‘tight supply of homes to rent’ which is also
pushing up rent prices.
