Homelessness due to no-fault evictions up 37% on pre-pandemic levels

New government figures show 5,260 households were threatened with homelessness in England as a result of a no-fault eviction between October and December 2021 – up by 37% compared to the same period before the pandemic.

To be classified as ‘threatened with homelessness’ by the council, a household is at risk of losing their home in the next eight weeks and has a legal duty to be helped to stay in their home or find somewhere new to live.

A Section 21 no-fault eviction allows landlords to evict a tenant with just two months’ notice, without having to give any reason. Shelter is calling for the government to make good on its promise to ban no fault evictions by committing to a Renters’ Reform Bill in the Queen’s Speech.

The charity argues that banning no-fault evictions is now more urgent than ever as the cost-of-living crisis means many renters will be unable to cover the unexpected costs of having to find a new home, like putting down a deposit or paying rent in advance.

The government’s homelessness data also revealed:

• One in four households were found to be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless because of the loss of a private tenancy (14,820 households). This has increased by 85% in a year after the end of the eviction ban but is 14% higher than before the pandemic. The loss of a private tenancy is the second leading trigger of homelessness in England.  

• Homelessness resulting from a no-fault eviction has been rising over the past 12 months – and jumped up by 17% in just three months. 

• The number of people fleeing domestic abuse (8,200households) who have become homeless or threatened with homelessness is 28% higher than before the pandemic. A total of 33,800 households became homeless in England last winter. This includes 8,410 families with children - a rise of 18% in a year and puts family homelessness back at pre-pandemic levels. 

Further demonstrating the gross instability of private renting and the impact of no-fault evictions, Shelter’s new research with YouGov showed:

• In the last three years, nearly 230,000 private renters have been served with a formal no-fault eviction notice. This equates to one renter every seven minutes. 

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said: “Homelessness due to no-fault evictions is up 37% on pre-pandemic levels. These are real people who’ve been chewed up and spat out by our broken private renting system, and now face an uphill battle to find somewhere to call home again.
“Our emergency helpline is inundated with calls from people whose lives have been thrown into chaos by unexpected and unfair evictions. If landlords follow the process, as it stands they can turf people out of their homes for no reason– and tenants are powerless to do anything about it.
“No fault evictions are blunt, brutal and indiscriminate. England’s 11 million private renters have waited long enough for a fairer system - it's time the government brought forward a Renters’ Reform Bill and put Section 21 on the scrapheap where it belongs.”  

CASE STUDY: Fiona, 35 from Torquay, and her two children are facing homelessness after being served a Section 21 eviction notice by their landlord.
Fiona said: “I work full time, I have always paid my rent on time, and I have a good reference from my landlord, but I have been looking for another home for myself and my family for four months now and I can’t find anything. I've tried to apply for a smaller property and still no luck.
“I'm panicking every day and feel we will be homeless very soon. I don't know where to turn. I have been to my council and applied for social housing but I’m not getting anywhere. My family are scared and anxious - we are constantly waking up stressed that we have nowhere to live.”

Anyone who is facing homelessness can get free and expert advice from Shelter by visiting www.shelter.org.uk/get_help.  

ENDS