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The month in numbers: will the Renters’ Reform Bill stop evictions into homelessness?
Do reforms to the private rented sector go far enough to protect tenants from being made homeless? Lucie Heath finds out
This month the government published a white paper outlining a series of much-needed reforms to the private rented sector. At the heart of the proposals is the plan to abolish Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions and scrap assured shorthold tenancies (ASTs) in favour of periodic tenancies.
The plans have been welcomed by campaigners, who have been waiting eagerly for movement since former prime minister Theresa May first promised to abolish Section 21 back in 2019. Alongside giving a sense of security to England’s estimated 4.4 million privately renting households, it is hoped that the reforms will help stop evictions into homelessness. Do the reforms go far enough in this regard?
Latest annual statistics from the government show that 12.6% of households who became homeless or were threatened with homelessness in 2020-21 did so due to the ending of an AST, of which just 3.4% were recorded as leaving the property of their own accord. Almost a quarter (22%) of those who became homeless or were threatened with homelessness due to the ending of a private rented tenancy were served a Section 21 notice.
These figures show that reforms to possession law are needed, but ending Section 21 is far from a silver bullet.
The homelessness statistics show that the most common reason for ending an AST is the landlord wishing to sell or re-let their property. Under the reforms, the government plans to introduce a new ground for possession that will allow landlords to evict tenants with two months’ notice if they wish to sell their property or have themselves or close family members move in. Most will agree that there needs to be some mechanism to allow landlords to evict tenants in these circumstances. However, it is vital that this ground does not become a backdoor through which landlords can evict tenants at their will.
Research carried out by Generation Rent in Scotland, where no-fault evictions have already been abolished, show that in 28% of cases between 2018 and 2020 where a landlord was granted possession in order to sell their home, the property was yet to be sold one year later. This included 14% of properties that were still on the landlord register, suggesting they had been re-let to someone else. If these reforms are to work in England, strict penalties must be introduced for landlords who abuse these grounds.
The details of this white paper will be fought over intensely during the coming months as these policies are translated into legislation. It is within these details that the true impact of the reforms will be decided.
