The chief executive of Shelter claims that Section 21 evictions are a leading cause of homelessness.
Polly Neate was making her remarks in response to new government figures which reveal the number of households living in privately rented homes in England who were evicted by bailiffs as a result of Section 21 proceedings has increased 143 per cent in a year (from 792 households between October and December 2021 and 1,924 between October and December 2022).
However, the figures are skewed because the 2021 period was affected by Covid restrictions.
The figures on repossession and evictions released by the Ministry of Justice also show 6,101 landlords in England started Section 21 no-fault eviction court proceedings between October and December 2022 – up 69 per cent in a year.
Shelter claims that the loss of a private tenancy is a leading trigger of homelessness in England.
The most recent government homelessness data shows that 5,940 households were threatened with homelessness in England as a result of a Section 21 no-fault eviction between April and June 2022 – up 76 per cent in a year following the end of the eviction ban in May 2021.
Neate says: “Every eviction notice that lands on someone’s doormat brings with it fear and uncertainty. No one wants to be forced out of their home, but these court figures show that’s happening to more and more private renters in this country.
“The chronic lack of social homes means the demand for overpriced and unstable private rentals has ballooned, and more people are being pitted against each other in the hunt for a home. Every day we hear from desperate families who’ve been served with no-fault eviction notices for daring to complain about poor conditions, or because their landlord wants to cash in on rising rents.
“No fault evictions are pushing too many people needlessly into homelessness and turning thousands of people’s lives upside down. The government has long promised it would scrap Section 21. Renters can’t wait any longer, the Renters’ Reform Bill is ready to go - it’s time the government stopped stalling and changed the law.”
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They keep banging this drum 🥁, it will come back to bite them when even more of us sell up.
S21 is the leading cause of homelessness - but being a bad tenant is the leading cause of getting a S21!
Shelter simply delay good tenants getting a home by supporting bad tenants in delaying the eviction they deserve.
S21 does NOT cause homelessness as it lets good tenants replace bad tenants. Homes are not left empty after S 21 so this doesn't cause homelessness.
The trouble is that the general public are unaware of this and it gets banded about that tenants have just been given notice for no reason.
The fact that it was known as a 'no fault' eviction, it is assumed, incorrectly that there was no valid reason why the tenant was evicted.
It has never really worked for me anyway, as the tenant just ignores the notice until a solicitor gets involved and it is taken to Court.
Also, the non-paying tenant just leaves without any forwarding address and you have no way of tracing them.
Tricia, I would argue that Shelter is the leading cause of homelessness.
Looking at the number of ex rentals appearing on Rightmove in my area, the recent report from Zoopla showing rental stock availability down 38% on 5 year average and THP accountants figures showing 1 in 6 sales properties is an ex rental I believe these repossessions are the result of Landlords selling up due in a major part to the threat of losing S21. Left with S21 in their back pocket perhaps many Landlords would have remained in the market and these people would not have lost their homes. I commented on one of Shelters recent fb adverts that they do not house anyone and how much Polly earns and strangely It appears I no longer have access to comment! I think Shelter have blocked me as they clearly didn't like the truth about them being made public
I've been blocked in commenting in the EDP, quite funny really because I just tell it as it is
+1
I do have a property on Zoopla directly because of the loss of S21. Also the rest of the contents of Gove's 'Brown Paper' released in June last year.
I also commented on Twitter the same about Shelter (on one of their own posts) not housing anyone and Polly's salary. I was promptly blocked. They are not fair and balanced.
Shelter are not prepared to let the truth get in the way of their narrative. At least you only got blocked - when I post against Acorn I get personal abuse, again for stating facts!
These tenant groups are indulging in cognitive dissonance - they believe LLs leaving the market will reduce house prices & put deposits in tenants' pocket. The former, maybe the later, no chance! Even though we are n a crisis of price & availability in the PRS they believe the answer is for LLs to leave!
I wonder how many S21s were issued as a result of rent arrears, rather than cumbersome S8 root.
The figures say it's considerable such that it's probably the one thing that has caused the government to pause... as they fear a huge deluge of S8 evictions, the courts being overwhelmed and they end up looking stupid!
They are not needlessly homeless - most of the time a S21 is issued, the tenant is an absolute nightmare to deal with. Trashes the property, gets behind with rent, not cooperative with house visits for maintenance and the list goes on. But we have a shambolic legal and court system which means getting anything done through courts is slow and expensive and will delay/favour the tenant on the smallest technicality.
Shelter will routinely side with the absolute worst of toxic tenants - I honestly don’t know what good they think they are doing - landlords are selling up in the thousands over this and it will get worse after S21 finally goes. Then homelessness will increase significantly when there’s even greater shortages of rental properties.
I can’t help but believe Shelter are trying to push things in the direction of more homelessness so they have more customers - which in turn would generate more free money (donations) for them.
They are a business. Nothing else. They don't care about their customers.
We surveyed 95,000 section 21 notices before lockdown and the vast majority, over 80%, had the option of using section 8 but chose to use section 21. Now with section 24 tax changes fully in force, negative capital gains changes, loss of section 21 getting closer, landlords are leaving the market (a reason Shelter fails to mention when saying landlords want to cash in on higher rents). The real problem is that we are simply not building enough properties to satisfy demand in either social, private rented or owner occupied markets. All this on top of the fact that 2022 was probably still people playing catch up after not evicting tenants during the pandemic. Oh, landlords also leaving the market due to the impending costs of energy efficiency upgrades, current proposal up to £10,000 per property. With increased interest rates and these costs some will be leaving as they cannot afford to stay.
Perhaps the reasons for these Section 21 evictions should be examined.
Is it because there was an eviction ban during the pandemic so this is just a natural bulge in the numbers caused by that?
Is it because Section 8 isn't fit for purpose but if it were, significant numbers of these Section 21 evictions could and would be Section 8?
Is it because sizeable numbers of landlords are well over retirement age and now just want a few years of peace? When they started out maybe over 25 years ago the tax situation was very different. Many will have hung in far longer than they ever intended due to punitive CGT. Many would have hoped adult children would become involved but punitive SDLT has made that much harder.
Is it because constant landlord bashing by ill informed activists has just worn some of us down to the point of walking away?
Is it fear of losing Section 21 even though it's something we have rarely or never needed to use? How many of the current evictions are because some landlords are absolutely terrified of going through potentially years of stress and financial harm if they can't get rid of a rogue tenant? How much is because they have always used a series of fixed term tenancies instead of rolling on to a SPT and they simply aren't comfortable with the idea of more fluidity?
How much is because of uncertainty over EPCs? What will be required, when by, how will the exemptions work, what funding will be available, etc. We have been in limbo for over 2 years. It's tempting to just off load properties that may be difficult to get EPC C on. However, it must be remembered these are much loved, conveniently located homes for hundreds of thousands of tenants.
For me the big one is Section 24. My mortgage payments will be going up by more than £20000 this year. The inclusive utility bills in my HMOs went up by around £20000 last year. While the utilities are a tax deductible expense, mortgage payments aren't. A combination of rent increases and tenants trying to cut consumption has more or less covered the increased utility costs. Now I need another round of rent increases to go some way towards the extra mortgage costs but that is going to push me over the loss of personal allowance tax threshold so it's impossible to cover the increased costs. This isn't a greedy landlord bitching. At this point any extra rent would simply go to the mortgage company or HMRC plus I'd still need to top it up from other sources.
Alternatively I could sell 2 properties and bring my turnover down below the threshold.
That, however, would mean another 6 totally blameless tenants would be facing eviction.
I don't want to evict anyone. I like being a landlord. I can handle EPC requirements, I already use SPTs for anything other than student tenancies.
Isn't it ridiculous that I may be forced to make people homeless because of a unique tax policy that only applies to people who provide rental properties?
I like most others on here can honestly say that I have only ever used sec 21 to evict non payers, and even then only 2 of them got as far as the court papers and one left the day before the bailiffs were due to turn up.
And not paying the rent is a leading cause of section 21!
Oh yes, she forgot that bit
Surely they need to think about what leads to a S21 notice being issued. No landlord evicts a good tenant for no reason. Will either be rent arrears or other tenant issue or landlord has decided to get rid of the property for any of the reasons Jo mentions. Getting rid of S21 will make no difference. The only things that will reduce the number of tenants needing to find a new home will be things that make BTL more attractive to investors.
As a tenant who pays rent early every month, maintains the property, pays bills and is a good neighbour to receive a s21 is heartbreaking.
Add to the fact you have done nothing wrong but treated like scum with eviction and you cannot find anywhere suitable and affordable is soul destroying plus you then get lumbered with court fees??? Why is this fair
Because LL’s are faced with near impossible barriers like S24 and EPC targets. Now the removal of S21 for our more annoying tenants means we are effectively wedded. Imagine being in a relationship that you the abused party cannot end. If you don’t want to be in this position then BUY a house!
Because it's not your property. When I rent a car I pay per day. I have to give it back at the end of the period. That's the agreement.
You are not treated like scum by landlords. You are given a legal notice on a form drafted by the government. The landlord can't even talk to you about it. Because if they say anything it's complicates everything and they lose and get lumbered with their own legal fees and yours!
You are requested to leave. If you don't the landlord (as I am doing with my **** tenant) has to pay court fees first (I won't get mine back). Why should the landlord pay? You should just move out. Sorry but landlords have it tough too. I don't want to be a landlord anymore at all. If a tenant can't find anywhere to live that's not my problem. You can blame governments for selling off all the councils houses. Blame them for not building more. Etc. Just don't blame the landlord.
Tracy, it isn't fair for decent tenants to be put in that situation. Just as it isn't fair for landlords to be taxed on turnover instead of profit. Just as landlords are expected to spend £'000s on EPC improvements that may or may not offer the tenant any noticeable improvement in warmth or heating costs. Those works aren't even tax deductible.
Some of us love providing long term, affordable, well maintained homes for good tenants but this government is making it impossible.
Tracy, If you really want to buy a property, you can. You need to make it a priority and make sacrifices. Your first property may not be the best, or in the ideal location, but it will be your property. Their are some lenders offering 95% mortgages. It might mean working long hours, not going on holidays, not having a nice car etc. But it can be done if you are determined.
If you are in this situation then the first question I would ask is why are you being asked to leave. Is your Landlord selling up? If he is selling the next question is why is he selling. If he is selling it is highly likely that it is due to a)the taxes imposed by the government have resulted in the Landlord unable to make any profit or even a loss - or b) your Landlord is not prepared to continue letting due to all the changes in legislation?
Either way if it were not for these factors and Govt interference many more Landlords would remain in the market - supply would be better - rents would be lower and tenants (unless they are in rent arrears or are problem tenants) would not be asked to leave. Landlords do not want to lose good tenants! The removal of S21 is actually going to make things A LOT worse as Landlords sell up and those who are left will become very choosy about who they rent to and rents will rise due to lack of supply. IN 2016 before the Government started meddling we were not seeing these problems...... and to @Andrew Townshend - sorry Andrew - did I run on or go off piste (again) ???????
I'm sure there was a reason there somewhere Tracy
Tracy
Tenants invariably moved on every 2 years. Due to us being invaded their is now a shortage of property. Serving an s21 should force the council to re house you. A long time ago my father's business was compulsory purchased and our living went, since we rented the property we got little or no compensation.
Edwin - my tenants certainly don't move every 2 years.
I've had some for over 10 years in self contained flats or houses. Several in HMOs for over 5 years.
Moving is a hassle for tenants and if they find a decent property with a decent landlord why on earth would they want to move?
The Councils don't have sufficient housing and rely on the PRS to house a lot of people on their radar. They have funding to help with deposits, up front rent or moving costs but they don't have enough actual houses.
Tracy. So sorry for your situation through no fault of your own, you have Mr Michael Gove (Comedian), Shelter and Government Policy’s to blame for that, continuously wrongly targeting Private landlords without any justification.
As a LL I have similar situations where I have good Tenants on very affordable Rents but now this I am going to have to act because of increased costs and hugely expensive Licensing and imminent EPC’s up grades and outrageous fixed term forever Tenancies tantamount to confiscation, just add Removal of Section 21 to make our Contracts worthless.
I can well understand you won’t be able to find anywhere to go for a reasonable Rent.
I have 5 shares in 5 bedroom house HMO Licensed with large reception in Central Ealing on a joint Tenancy for £2’250. pm, but a 3 bed house next door probably used as 4 is let for £3’900. pm. There you go we can’t be left alone so looks like I have no option but serve S.21 or not be a landlord.
I would have said Shelter (The Devil).
Robert, So Section 21 has many benefit’s and is the back bone and foundation of all Private lettings.
As well as retaining good Tenants in good Property it has the ability to weeds out the bad Tenants.
Removing it causes homelessness empower bad Tenants, caused good Tenants to turn bad.
As we have seen the threat of Removing S.21 has caused thousands of landlords to sell up creating a shortage and putting off many others from Purchasing increasing stock for Rental hence driving up Rents and evictions.
This is my view. Bad tenants will be emboldened to turn worse. Even the good ones may turn bad knowing you can't get them out. LL's on here have said they have had great tenants for MANY YEARS. All was going well. But they serve a S21 for whatever reason and they stop paying have turned rotten.
I believe S21 MUST STAY. I don't care about politics, political climb downs / U turns, it being mentioned in 2 Queen's speeches or anything else. No S21=No property to rent as far as I'm concerned.
Christ, even paying the rent is becoming optional in Scotland, and Nandy is talking about 2 month arrears not being an issue any more.
Just wait until they have klaus Schwab as their landlord 😂
George
We seem to have him as prime minister!
Shelter are going to realise their lobbying of Government will end in tears for the tenants they claim to protect. In essence, tenancies will be periodic. This will lead to vast numbers of people using PRS Rentals as A B&B, contractors, those in between sales etc. It will totally stifle an already tough market. Landlords will simply un furnish their properties to negate short term rentals on their properties. This will hurt first time renters and the huge student market where furniture affordability will be an issue. The cost to Landlords on this knee jerk idea could be immense, repeat short term tenancies causing agents fees, inventory fees, deposit protection fees time and time again.
This is already happening in Scotland.
Workers on short term contracts are taking on Properties and giving 4 weeks notice after a few days or weeks and there is nothing that the Landlord can do about it.
After letting agent fees etc. Landlords can be making a loss on what is actually a short term rental but at long term rates.
Of course proper tenants also suffer due to this practice but the SNP and their little Green helpers wouldn't let such unwelcome facts get in the way of their dogma.
The UK Government is only too aware of the idiocies perpetrated by the SNP, so why would they ever want to emulate any of their loony policies?
9 MONTHS to ONE YEAR for a Possession Process
(appears all tenants are given 5 months more, to appeal, if they ask)
COURT SAYS IT AIMS TO OPEN AN EMAIL
OR LETTER WITHIN 80 DAYS
(delay increasing)
GET OUT : BEFORE THEY REALLY START TO HURT LANDLORDS
DON'T MOAN LATER... 'THE WRITING WASN'T ON THE WALL'
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