Long-awaited Renters’ Rights Act to protect 2,000 households a month from threat of homelessness caused by no-fault evictions

Shelter marks ‘quantum leap forward’ for renters’ rights with Secretary of State’s visit to Bristol service

On the day the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force, Shelter new analysis reveals the ban on Section 21 will protect more than 2,000 households a month from the threat of homelessness caused directly by no fault evictions.

The Renters’ Rights Act is the greatest overhaul of private renting in a generation. The banning of Section 21 is the cornerstone of the Act and will immediately grant greater security to England’s 11 million private renters. It comes after decades of renters being silenced by the threat of a retaliatory eviction if they complained about poor conditions.

Until now, no fault evictions were also a major contributing factor in rising homelessness as they allowed landlords to evict tenants with only two months’ notice, without having to give a reason.

Commenting on the impact of the Act, which Shelter has spent many years campaigning for, the charity’s chief executive Sarah Elliott, said: “Today marks a quantum leap forward in the fight for renters’ rights. After decades of campaigning, the Act has dragged our archaic rental system into the 21st century.

“With Section 21 abolished, gone are the days when tenants could be evicted for no reason whatsoever and with only two months’ notice. More than 2,000 households a month will now be protected from the threat of homelessness directly caused by no fault evictions.

“At Shelter, we stand ready to help tenants understand the vital changes the Act has introduced and enforce their new rights. Anyone in need of support should visit our website for housing advice or use our webchat to speak to one of our expert advisers.”

Some of the other benefits of the Renters’ Rights Act include:

• The abolition of fixed-term tenancies that lock renters into unsuitable homes

• Limits on discriminatory demands for huge sums of rent in advance

• An explicit ban on refusing to let to parents and people in receipt of benefits

To mark the implementation of Act, Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, visited Shelter’s Bristol Hub.

Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “Renters have been living at the mercy of rogue landlords and in fear of losing their home for too long.

“We are putting a stop to this with historic changes that give renters the security they deserve - marking the beginning of a new era for private renters.

“I know this is an issue that Shelter and many other organisations have been campaigning on for many years and we will continue together to make sure everyone has a safe place to call home.”

While at the Shelter hub, the Secretary of State met mum-of-two Amanda, who experienced first-hand the brutal unfairness of Section 21.

Amanda said: “We had been living in our rented home for 10 years. Then in 2018, the landlord unfairly evicted us with a Section 21. It was so demoralising. I remember spending five hours a day, every day, searching, searching, searching for places when we were first evicted.”

“Having to manage all of that, while looking after two children and working the whole time, was a complete nightmare.”

Amanda reported viewing more than 300 properties before she found a new home. Unfortunately, the property she found was in terrible disrepair, with rats, mould and a carbon monoxide leak that seriously impacted her children’s health.

“The landlord had all the all the excuses under the sun not to fix the problems. So, for me, it stopped being a home and I hated being there.”

In June 2022, the family was evicted again and pushed into homelessness. Amanda was informed by her local authority that the family would be in emergency accommodation for around a week. Instead, the family was shunted around 11 different hotels and hostels over the course of the following seven. With the support of Shelter’s family services team in Bristol, Amanda carried on fighting and eventually received an offer of a permanent home.

Commenting on what the Act would have meant to her family, Amanda said: “If the Act had been in place, I wouldn’t have gone through half of what I went through. I’m ecstatic for people renting now, who will no longer face discrimination just for having children. They will no longer have to live on a knife-edge.”

ENDS