Landlords rush to force out tenants ahead of Section 21 ban as eviction notices hit eight-year high

Landlords are moving fast to force out tenants as the government’s ban on Section 21 evictions looms, campaigners have warned, with government figures revealing a spike in evictions by bailiffs.

Labour has pledged to abolish Section 21 evictions, with the ban expected to be implemented by next summer.

And Ministry of Justice figures showed that, between July and September, 8,425 households in England were served with Section 21 notices – an eight year high.

The figure marked an increase on the corresponding period a year earlier and came as 2,830 households were evicted by bailiffs, a 23% hike on last year.

Housing charities called for the passage of the Renters’ Rights Bill to be sped up, with almost 110,000 households now having been evicted under Section 21 since Theresa May promised to ban it in April 2019.

Crisis argued that the latest data “show the horrifying truth that tenants are still being evicted from their homes and left to face the nightmare of housing insecurity and homelessness”.

Chief executive Matt Downie wants the bill moving through parliament to become law “as quickly as possible”.

“No-fault evictions are one of the leading causes of homelessness. We need urgent action and stricter measures to protect people at risk of homelessness now and in the future,” he added.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, commented: “With renters being marched out of their homes in their thousands, passing the Renters’ Rights Bill and closing the book on the gross injustice of no fault evictions can’t come soon enough.”

The Renters Reform Coalition’s Lucy Tiller noted: “Being forced to leave your home through no fault of your own is a disruptive and expensive experience that pushes many renters into hardship and even homelessness.”

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, responded to the claims made by the housing charities.

He said: “Over the last year the number of possession claims brought using a Section 21 notice has fallen across England and Wales.

“With data from Rightmove pointing to record numbers of rental properties up for sale, the best way to help tenants is to encourage responsible landlords to stay in the market.”

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20 Comments

  1. Hit Man

    These charities still don’t understand that a section 21 is NOT a no fault eviction.

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    1. MickRoberts

      Proper thick aren’t they.

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    2. Rosebush

      Landlords do not evict on a whim. S21 was used even for rent arrears and landlords simply wrote off the arrears knowing that they had no chance of ever recouping the money owed. With the end of s21 more tenants will find themselves with a CCJ against them and little hope of ever finding another landlord to risk taking them on. In fact s21 was more beneficial to tenants than landlords.

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      1. Andy2023

        Interested to see how it is more beneficial to the person being evicted than the one doing the evicting. I was subject to one myself. No rent arrears, no nothing. Random email one Wednesday afternoon at 4pm from the estate agent. Owner wished to sell as she saw pound signs light up before her eyes. Bought for cash (so the land registry told me) for £75,000 6 years ago. Wanted £135,000. No notice, no warning. I wasn’t willing to go over £115,000 to stay. Was told no. Ended up selling over a year later for £106,000. Greed gets you nowhere!

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        1. MickRoberts

          See,
          There is another side to the this.
          The Landlady never GAVE you the house forever. She rented it for you. Let you borrow it or lend it (I get confused). So are we saying she can NEVER have her house back for WHATEVER REASON?
          We don’t know her side to the story.
          And by the way, I have many tenants with me over 20 years, but I’ve had enough-Not of the tenants. Govt & Council interreference when I’m charging 30% below market rents. And Miliband now wants 6k spent on each house EPC C that the tenants don’t want. Can u see why some of us are selling?

          And you would have had notice, they emailed u. They didn’t want u going that night. Not nice I know but this is why people can’t get anywhere any more cause the Landlord knows it’s a struggle to get house back-So he don’t give u in the first place now. And you’ve just said it, u wasn’t willing to go.

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          1. Andy2023

            Of course I didn’t expect the house forever. Don’t be ridiculous! However, I would have expected a phone call to say hey look this is what’s happening instead of a blind email saying you have 2 minths to get out.. Of course I didn’t want to leave. A single parent, with a disabled son, having lived there for many years and it was the only house he ever knew. There is a human element to this which my particular landlord couldn’t care less about. I was nothing but a paycheck. It’s a shame the money grasping few give a bad name to the rest

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            1. MickRoberts

              My tenants are expecting the house forever. I too thought same pre 2015.
              Yes be nice if Landlord came to see u & explained why if u all got along.
              Yes Govt & Councils are forgetting this human element, they never go & ask my tenants what they want.
              And yes to some Landlords u r just an investment. Many of us did start out to make money & now we are turning into loss making charities.

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  2. CountryLass

    It is NOT an eviction, it is an owner deciding that he wants to end the contract for the person living in THEIR PROPERTY.

    No good Landlord is going to throw a good Tenant out of the property without a good reason. Maybe it is because he needs to sell, because she has family members moving in, because it needs work they can’t do with a tenant inside and it’s going to take several months.

    And the reason so many are doing it now, is because the Court reforms and Grounds in Section 8 have not been re-vamped, streamlined and made more efficient before bringing it in under Labour, the way that the Tories had planned to. Managed properly, there is no reason to fear the loss of S21. Managed the way this shower seem to be planning it however…

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  3. Another House

    What a load of nonsense and this picture being painted that landlords are throwing tenants out on the street is for no particular reason is rubbish. Running a lettings agency with over 300 properties I cant actually recall the last time a landlord wanted us to serve a s21 notice. Getting rid of s21 is a complete red herring to this mess that the rental market is in. The only reason why we lose properties at the moment is because the landlords or their family are moving back in or they are selling . The question is never asked to the landlords as to why they are selling and what can be done to stop them, for those working in the industry the answer is pretty obvious.

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    1. Rosebush

      If we can collate the number of landlords evicting surely we can also collate why they are selling up. I suspect the majority are getting out because they either know that the property will never gain an EPC of C or it is just too expensive to even try and just end up with an E or D. I have no idea why we are being constantly told that this new bill is also good for landlords. Have I missed something?

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    2. MickRoberts

      At no point will they ask you
      Why does that Landlord want house back?

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  4. Tonyp

    Well how did I get here as a tenant who has been living under a landlord who won’t do repairs the timber frame of the house I live in is full of dry rot windows are falling out and I have a daughter who has severe asthma and a blood disorder with no where else to go I’ve been living in a nightmare even that it is law I’ve been told I have to service the boiler system myself no electricity checks and holes in the rotten window frames that i am having to fill with paper to stop the weather getting In how dare you justify home owners are being wrongly targeted I dare any one of you to contact me my last years electricity bill was nearly 5k trying to keep my daughter healthy I’ve got no roof insulation and the roofing felt is non existent the house is moving due to subsidence and the last large amount of rain we had I lost all white goods in kitchen carpets and cupboards due to mold due to the fact I had water coming in through the back door and out through the front door and this man was knighted a multi millionaire and owns a estate gifted to him by the royal family some landlords run with the law some don’t care if they kill someone as long as the money is coming in and on top of all that we are being threatened with eviction every time we beg for repairs there is no high horse to get on as far as I am concerned you run a tight ship you will get your rent yes there are some tenants who need the shove don’t get me wrong but look harder most just want to keep there families safe and shouldn’t have to spend money to do so on top of there rent when it’s not there job to do so

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    1. MickRoberts

      And that’s where the problem lies.
      Govt only hears your stories, so make all Landlords pay. My tenants don’t go to Govt & say Ooh my Landlord just done me a lovely new boiler & windows & kitchen. That doesn’t make headlines.
      Your Landlord gives the other 99% of Landlords a bad name.

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      1. Tonyp

        And this is why the horses need to be put to pasture if there were no stories to told there would be nothing for the government to listen to the cost of everything is at a all time high and everyone is struggling and I do believe people that own multiple properties are being hit hard as well but it’s no excuse to let other people’s welfare be dismissed because of the hard work that has been put in is being made harder by the times we live in . Any yes there are more than a few landlords that are giving the many a really bad run so how’s about we agree that yes in both stables there are things that need to be addressed and ofcourse if justification warrants a removal has to be made there are many government grants private tenants can apply for if allowed to help home owners but can’t because the owner will not agree to it or think it can be used as leverage to stay in the property not all think like this if owner admit there struggling too there are thousands of pounds worth of grants available the tenants can apply for to help we all just have to get on the same page and admit sometimes we all can help each other

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      2. Gib876

        That’s so true.

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    2. Gib876

      That is terrible if true. You should not be living in those conditions.
      You cannot continue living like that especially as winter is almost here. I obviously don’t know the area your living, personal circumstances and what you have tried so far but your obviously working to pay high energy bills like that.
      Have you tried reporting to your council and housing-ombudsman.org.uk/residents/how-to-complain-to-your-landlord/
      Also check if your deposit has been deposited into a approved tennant deposit scheme. If its not then you can claim thousands back.
      Good luck

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    3. Hendrix

      Your point is quite understandable as in this particular instance there appears to be a “duff” landlord or managing agent. One hopes you are aware of the remedies available to rectify these issues & appreciate might not be an immediate quick fix.

      Notwithstanding majority of landlords are conscious of their responsibilities & daresay the apportionment of good / bad landlords percentage wise minimal.

      The government’s current actions on the rental market, ie EPC, tax, Section 21 etc etc will lead to higher rents & shortage of property.

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  5. Tonyp

    At the end of the day I’m just a tenant in a very bad situation there are many people probably on this website who could pursue this avenue and draw something legal that could help both parties as a leveled person can see both sides and don’t hold any real opinions on the problems for both sides of the fence but it needs sorting by someone much more knowledgeable than me !!!

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    1. CSM

      Why do you stay if its as bad as you say? Why not move? Go to citizens advice and ask for help.

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  6. Codfather2024

    Most landlords are decent people and will not evict a good tenant without reason I never have or never will. Those rushing in to evict now are the scum landlords who unfortunately give the rest of us a bad name

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