Generation Rent has launched a double-pronged attack on landlords and the government.

The activist group claims that the latest possession statistics from the Ministry of Justice show that Section 21 evictions have increased to their highest quarterly rate since 2018, with a 39 per cent rise over the same period last year.

Generation Rent draws a link between that and the decision by the government not to allocate immediate time to the Third Reading of the controversial Renters Reform Bill, which promises to scrap Section 21 powers for landlords. 

The group says the Leader of the Commons, MP Penny Mordaunt, says there are no plans yet for the Third Reading, which can now take place on March 4 at the earliest. 

Generation Rent Chief Executive Ben Twomey says: “Today sees the continuation of an awful trend that has been blighting the lives of renters across our country.  As long as landlords can evict tenants through no fault of their own with just two months’ notice, homelessness in England will continue to soar.

“Renters have been waiting five years since the government promised to end these evictions, and yet today we find out the government is delaying their plans again. Since that promise, almost 90,000 households have been forced out because of no-fault evictions – and this number is rising every day. In fact, since the law to change this was last debated in parliament, we estimate that 5,891 more households have faced Section 21 eviction in the courts. 

“How can the government stand by while thousands of us are turfed from our homes? The Renters Reform Bill must be brought back to the Commons as soon as possible to end these appalling evictions. England’s 12 million private renters cannot be made to wait any longer.”

The government has in fact some weeks ago said that the abolition of Section 21 powers would have to wait until court process reforms were undertaken to allow possession cases to be dealt with in a more timely manner.

The Renters Reform Coalition – a matrix of pro-tenant groups very closely linked to Generstion Rent – tweeted yesterday evening: “Absolutely shocking that on the same day data shows rising no fault evictions, the govt is yet again delaying the Renters Reform Bill. As homelessness and evictions soar we are very concerned this legislation won’t pass before the next election – it must be prioritised ASAP.”