Record number of renters ask Citizens Advice for help with no fault evictions

Citizens Advice helped 2,000 people with ‘no fault’ evictions in May, the most in a single month on record and 25 per cent more than the same month last year. 

Also known as section 21 evictions, these allow private landlords to repossess their properties without having to establish fault on the part of the tenant.

So far this year the charity has seen a 9 per cent increase in people seeking support with these types of evictions, compared to the same period in 2022.

Citizens Advice is a network of independent charities offering confidential advice for free

The Government is set to end no fault evictions under the Renters Reform Bill currently making its way through parliament, but Citizens Advice has warned the changes don’t go far enough to protect tenants.

The legislation still allows landlords to evict renters six months in to a tenancy if they wish to sell the property or move in a member of their family. 

However, the new rules won’t require landlords to give evidence they have followed through on this once a tenant has left.

Citizens Advice’s research found 48 per cent of renters who have experienced an eviction had been told their landlord wanted to sell up.

Furthermore, the charity is warning that landlords may use excessive rent increases as a way of forcing tenants out.

Last year, 1.8 million households either had their rent increased or were threatened with an increase, while 300,000 renters were forced out of their home by such an increase.

The charity found less than 10 per cent of renters who challenged a rent increase from their landlord were successful. 

An estimated 700,000 households across the UK missed rent or mortgage payments in April, according to consumer group Which? as rent hit new highs. 

Rents outside of London soared to an average of £1,190 a month as tenants compete for a lack of homes to let.

Matthew Upton, acting executive director of policy and advocacy at of Citizens Advice, said: ‘Our advisers are increasingly hearing from renters who are being forced to uproot their entire lives after receiving a Section 21 notice.

‘Reforms to the private rental sector are welcome, but they’re open to abuse from unscrupulous landlords. The Government must ensure reforms are watertight and not include loopholes which allow section 21 evictions to continue by the backdoor.’

The charity is calling on the Government to increase the length of time new tenants are protected from ‘no fault’ grounds for eviction from six months to two years.

It also wants steps to be put in place to ensure landlords who claim to need to sell a property can’t rapidly re-let it.

Many landlords say they are being forced to put up rents due to increased mortgage costs. 

One in three landlords is struggling to remortgage after failing their lender’s affordability test, according to analysis by broker Mortgages for Business.

In just two years the average two-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage has jumped from 2.96 per cent to 5.80 per cent, figures from Moneyfacts show.

Changes to mortgage interest relief, and the reduction of landlord allowances such as wear and tear, have contributed to a tougher environment for landlords.

However, when This Money canvassed landlords’ opinions on the new legislation the responses were mixed. 

While some said the end of no fault evictions was the final straw pushing them out of the sector, others were more sanguine and took a long term view hoping to ride out the current turmoil.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk