Industry News


No–fault evictions by bailiffs up 23% in a year


Government data has shown 2,830 households in England were removed from their homes by bailiffs as a result of a Section 21 no fault eviction procedures between July and September – an increase of 23% in a year. Te figures from the Ministry of Justice


also show 8,425 landlords in England started Section 21 no fault eviction proceedings against their tenants during the same period, the highest number in eight years. No fault evictions are a major reason


for households being threatened with homelessness as they allow landlords to evict tenants with just two months’ notice, with no reason given. Te Government has promised to finally


scrap no fault evictions as part of its new Renters’ Rights Bill, in which it hopes to transform private renting, but the housing charity Shelter is warning that unfair evictions will continue unless action is taken to limit huge jumps in rent.


Research by the charity shows that 60,000 renters have been forced out of their homes by a rent hike they couldn’t afford in the past year. Shelter is urging the Government to


strengthen the Bill further to ensure it gives renters iron–clad protection from unfair evictions. Te Bill must implement lasting change by limiting rent hikes in line with inflation or wage growth, and protecting tenants from eviction for an initial period of two years aſter they move in. Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter,


said: “With renters being marched out of their homes in their thousands, passing the Renter’s Rights Bill and closing the book on the gross injustice of no fault evictions can’t come soon enough. “Te Bill represents a welcome new chapter


for tenants. But, with landlords allowed to hike up rents on a whim as a way of pricing current tenants out of their homes, renters will continue to live in fear even aſter Section 21 is scrapped. “If the Government wants the Renter’s


Rights Bill to be truly transformative, it must go further. Rent increases during tenancies must be capped in line with inflation or wage growth to make renting safer, secure, and more affordable.”


Shelter warns of spiralling crisis as every second call to its emergency helpline is from someone facing homelessness


T


he housing charity Shelter is warning the severity of the housing emergency is getting worse this winter, with new data


revealling that over half of callers to its emergency helpline are people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. More than a third of these are families with children. Te research lays bare the devastating impact


the combination of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis and record high rents have had over the last number of years. Advisers on the charity’s free helpline, which


is part funded by M&S Food, are raising the alarm about the increasing number of people approaching them who are at crisis point and running out of options. Data from Shelter’s emergency helpline shows


that in 2024 so far: • Over half of all callers (55%) are homeless or at risk of homelessness – up 10% on 2020 levels.


• Of these, more than one in three (35%) are families with children – up 12% in the last four years.


• Te number of single mothers in need of housing support has more than doubled in this same time period – up from 5% in 2020 to 13%.


• Almost half (49%) of calls are from people struggling with housing costs – up by 14% since the pandemic and cost–of–living crisis began.


Shelter’s emergency helpline provides expert advice, support and advocacy to people facing homelessness or bad housing. In the last year, the main reason people called the helpline was on issues relating to affording their housing costs (49%). Tat includes callers being forced into rent arrears aſter struggling with the cost of increasing household bills and rent, being threatened with eviction aſter being hit with huge rent hikes or facing homelessness because private rents are at record highs. Andrea Deakin, head of telephone and online


advice services at Shelter said: “With rents rocketing across the country and homelessness at an all–time high, more people than ever are coming to our emergency helpline who are homeless or on the


12 | HMMDecember/January 2025 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


Shelter’s emergency helpline provides expert advice, support and advocacy to people facing homelessness or bad housing. In the last year, the main reason people called the helpline was on issues relating to affording their housing costs (49%)


verge of losing the roof over their heads. “Day in and day out, our dedicated team of


advisers are hearing increasingly heartbreaking stories from desperate families in appalling living situations. From the family forced to fork out hundreds on getting their child to school aſter being uprooted to an emergency B&B miles from their community, to the young pregnant woman terrified of sleeping on the street aſter being made homeless. “Our advisors are doing everything they can to


help families impacted by the housing emergency this winter. By picking something up from M&S’s Food on the Move range, you will help families get the expert advice and support they need to find a safe place to call home.”


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