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No fault eviction claim to be made ‘every 15 minutes’ this summer, Generation Rent says

Written By:
Guest Author
Posted:
July 14, 2023
Updated:
July 14, 2023

Guest Author:
Noora Ismail

Analysis by campaign group and charity, Generation Rent, has estimated that a Section 21 claim will be made every 15 minutes over the six-week summer holiday, equating to up to 90 per day.

The data based on government mortgage possessions statistics showed that almost 61,000 no fault eviction court proceedings have been initiated by landlords since the government promised to end Section 21 in 2019. Section 21 allows landlords to evict tenants without needing to give a reason.

The Parliamentary debate to make unfair evictions unlawful is not scheduled to take place before the autumn.

Delays to the Renters (Reform) Bill will put more renters at risk according to Generation Rent who say that further holdups to reform could result in potentially 3,787 unfair evictions. If the Section 21 notice is valid, then tenants will be unable to challenge the decision.

Generation Rent has called for the government to immediately schedule the Renters (Reform) Bill’s Second Reading as a priority for when parliament next sits so renters can be protected.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “The summer holidays are nearly here but parliament is not summer-ready. Despite promising four years ago to outlaw arbitrary evictions, the government has failed to table the second reading of the Renters (Reform) Bill.

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“We are now seeing the desperate situation in which every 15 minutes over the summer a renter will be packing their bags, not to go on holiday but because they are being evicted from their home.”

He added: “Recent soaring rises in rents on new tenancies mean that many families will no longer be able to afford to rent near their children’s schools if they are evicted.

“Delays in parliament are leading to despair across the country. Urgent action is needed to end unfair evictions and Generation Rent will keep not stop campaigning until renters are protected.”