The Generation Rent group claims some 26,100 households in England faced homelessness as a result of receiving a Section 21 eviction notice in 2023-24.

This is up from 24,260 in 2022-23.

The activist group also states: “The figures also revealed that households facing homelessness as a result of landlords selling or re-letting their home reached 45,110 in the same period, another record high and 3,000 more than the previous financial year. Of these, 31,520 landlords were selling and 13,530 landlords were re-letting.”

It says that while the widely-expected ban on Section 21 will stop some evictions, it will not reduce those triggered by landlords exiting the sector.

So for those, the campaigners want longer notice period and financial support to move.

Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, says: “Our home is the foundation of our lives, but for private renters it can be snatched away only too easily. We get just two months’ notice to move and no support with the costs of moving or raising a new deposit. 

“Government plans to end Section 21 will stop thousands of people being made homeless because their landlord feels like getting a new tenant in, but we will still face insecurity if selling up is to become a valid ground for eviction.

“Where tenants face eviction for reasons beyond our control, we need more time in our homes, a longer notice period, and financial support with the costs of moving.”