Nearly 700,000 renters have been served with no-fault eviction notices since the start of the pandemic.
That’s according to an estimate based on the polling of a cross-section of private renters, which found that 8% of respondees – around 694,000 people – had received a section 21 notice from their landlord since March 2020.
A further 32% of respondees said they were concerned they would be asked to move out at some point this year.
The finding comes exactly two years after the government announced that private landlords will no longer be able to evict tenants from their homes “at short notice and without good reason”.
But so-called Section 21 eviction notices are still being issued, causing increased pressure on ministers to deliver on their word.
The renters’ reform bill, which promised to abolish no-fault evictions, was announced in December 2019 but has yet to be delivered.
Commenting on the findings, Sue James, chair of the Renters’ Reform Coalition – which includes Generation Rent, Crisis, Shelter, Citizens Advice, and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation – said: “Private renters face high rents, poor living conditions, and perpetual instability.
“This causes needless disruption to people’s lives: their finances, work, health, and their children’s education.
“Renters need certainty to enable them to put down roots in communities and create real homes in rented properties.”
The government has been approached for comment.
Image: fizkes/Shutterstock
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