Latest news with #Section 21
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Telegraph
No-fault evictions surge under Labour
The number of 'no-fault' evictions has surged under Labour as landlords rush to free up properties ahead of rent reforms that will ban the practice. So-called Section 21 evictions enforced by bailiffs rose by 8pc in the 12 months since Sir Keir Starmer was handed the keys to Downing Street, new figures show. Section 21 notices allow landlords to force renters out during their tenancy without needing a specified reason. It comes after Rushanara Ali, the Government's homelessness minister, was forced to resign after it was revealed she evicted tenants at her London property before increasing the rent. There were 11,402 repossessions by county court bailiffs following a Section 21 notice in the year to June, up from 10,576 from the previous 12 months, according to Ministry of Justice figures. The notices are served on tenants by landlords to begin the process of regaining possession of a property despite their shorthold tenancy not having expired. Under Labour's Renters' Rights Bill, landlords will need to apply for a hearing before they can evict a tenant. During the same period, there were 30,729 uses of fast-track evictions. These are available to landlords when a tenant has not left the property by a specified date. This was a slight drop from 32,103 in the preceding 12 months. A spokesman for the National Residential Landlord Association said: 'It is concerning that the number of bailiff repossessions relating to no-fault proceedings is increasing at a time when claims, orders warrants, and overall repossessions are decreasing year on year according to the Ministry of Justice's latest statistics. 'This illustrates that, even after receiving a court order to leave a property, tenants are opting to wait until they are removed by a bailiff. This is not in the interest of households or landlords, all of whom will have to endure additional stress and costs associated with evictions.' Last week Ms Ali quit her role as homelessness minister amid claims she gave tenants at a property she owned in east London four months' notice to leave before relisting the property with a £700 rent increase within weeks. Ms Ali's house was put up for sale while the tenants were living there, and it was only relisted as a rental because it had not sold, according to the i newspaper. Her actions went against Labour's flagship Renters' Rights Bill, which is in the final stages of becoming law, and introduces stronger protections for tenants. Once the law comes in, landlords who evict their tenants in order to sell their property will be banned from relisting it as a rental for six months. Instead, buy-to-let owners will only be able to evict for a very limited number of reasons, using a Section 8 notice, which requires a court hearing. The bill will also introduce a 12-month protected period from eviction at the start of a tenancy. Mairi MacRae, from homelessness charity Shelter, said: 'It is unconscionable that more than a year after the Government came to power, thousands of renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the Government said would be scrapped immediately.' A government spokesman said: 'No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill, which is a manifesto commitment and legislative priority for this Government. 'We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the Bill becomes law.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
More than 11,000 no-fault bailiff evictions in past year, figures show
More than 11,000 households in England have had their homes repossessed by bailiffs following a no-fault eviction process since last year when the Labour government came into its manifesto, Labour promised to "immediately abolish" Section 21, also known as no-fault, evictions which allow landlords to remove tenants without a reason. A bill ending the practice was announced last year and is expected to become law when Parliament returns from its summer charity Shelter said it was "unconscionable" that "renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately". A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: "No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters' Rights Bill."We're determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the bill becomes law."The Renters' Rights Bill will introduce a new system giving new tenants a 12-month "protected period" where they cannot be evicted if the landlord wants to move in or sell the can still get rid of tenants for other reasons including non-payment of rent or criminal behaviour by the tenants. After the first year, landlords would have to give tenants four months' notice to leave, doubling the current time period, and provide a specific reason for ending a tenancy. In September, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook had said he hoped the bill would be passed "within the first half or around summer next year". However, when Parliament paused for the summer, the bill had just been passed by the House of Lords, albeit with some changes September, the House of Commons will debate and vote on the changes. Both houses of Parliament will need to approve the bill before it can become law. In the latest figures, released by the Ministry of Justice, the number of repossessions by a county court bailiff following a no fault eviction rose from 10,576 between July 2023 and June 2024 to 11,402 the following represents an increase of 8%, a more modest rise compared to the previous two years which saw jumps of 29% and 60% if a tenant doesn't leave a property by a specified date, a landlord can make a possession claim to the courts, with an accelerated procedure, which could lead to a the year to June, there were 30,729 claims, a 4% decrease on the previous 12-month period. Mairi MacRae, Shelter's director of campaigns and policy, said: "To curb record homelessness and ensure renters can live free from the threat of no-fault eviction, the government must deliver on this commitment, pass the bill, and name an implementation date when Section 21 will finally be scrapped."The charity said around 950 households could be evicted for every month a ban is delayed. The National Residential Landlords Association echoed Shelter's demands for the government to set a date when the changes would come into said a "lack of certainty" had "led to a great deal of confusion and concern amongst landlords".The association also noted a rise of more than two weeks in the length of the court process for recovering properties over the past year.A spokesperson added it was "essential that we have clarity about what support will be given to the courts service to ensure it is able to cope with the added pressures which will be created by these reforms". Earlier this month, the homelessness minister Rushanara Ali was forced to resign after revelations about how she handled a property she was renting out. The i newspaper reported that a former tenant of Ali's had been sent an email in November giving four months' notice the lease would not be said shortly after she and the three other tenants had moved out, the house in east London had been re-listed at a rent £700 a month higher, in a practice that would be banned under the Renters' Rights bill would prevent landlords from re-listing a property for rent, if they have ended a tenancy in order to sell, for six months.
