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9:37 AM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago 22
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First, it was a claim by Generation Rent that families are being evicted every 15 minutes – but now Shelter has gone one better by saying a family is evicted every EIGHT minutes in England.
The charity says it has calculated the figure by using the number of families living in the private rented sector from the English Housing Survey – which is 188,000 families over the last three years – and surveyed private renters to conclude that 172 families are being served with a Section 21 notice every day, or one every eight minutes.
That’s despite the same government survey revealing that just 4% of tenants are asked to leave or are evicted by a landlord.
And most tenants – that’s 77% – ended a tenancy because they wanted to move home and not because they were evicted.
In May, the housing charity teamed up with Co-Op Bank and they will stage a PR stunt in Parliament Square which will see home moving boxes being used to illustrate the number of families having to move home.
And Shelter has slammed the lack of progress Renters (Reform) Bill which will see the abolition of section 21 notices, because there is still no date for a second reading as ‘unacceptable’.
It says the government is ‘failing renters’.
Shelter’s figure for evictions has been extrapolated from a survey it carried out with YouGov of 1,910 renters in England, which includes 489 who have dependent children.
It reveals that nearly a fifth of tenants have moved at least three times in the last five years – and this shows that private renting is ‘insecure’, the charity claims.
Shelter’s chief executive, Polly Neate, said: “The government is failing renters by stalling on the Renters (Reform) Bill.
“For each day that MPs are off on their six-week summer break, another 172 families will be hit with a no-fault eviction notice, giving them just two months to pack up and leave their home.”
She highlights that rents are rising quickly and there is a lack of affordable social homes and evicted families will have to ‘scramble’ to find a home to rent.
Ms Neate said: “Many parents will be forced to overpay and accept dire conditions, or deal with the prospect of becoming homeless.
“It is unacceptable that the Renters (Reform) Bill has made no progress in Parliament, when the very eviction notices the government promised to ban years ago are continuing to land on people’s doorsteps in their droves.”
She added: “The government must bring back the Bill as soon as Parliament returns. England’s 11 million private renters are depending on it.”
The chief executive of Co-Op Bank, Nick Slape, said: “Fighting poverty and inequality across the UK is extremely important to our customers, and that’s why we’re campaigning on this issue alongside Shelter.
“We were encouraged to see this Bill brought to Parliament, but we need to see tangible action from the government now. Families across the country are depending on it.”
A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “Our landmark Renters (Reform) Bill will deliver a better deal for renters and landlords.
“We are abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions, giving tenants greater security in their homes and making it easier for landlords to get rid of antisocial tenants.”
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SP
10:56 AM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
I still can work out, when renting became the new form of owning without needing to save up or having the responsibility of upkeep.
Dylan Morris
11:01 AM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by SP at 19/07/2023 - 10:56
It started in 1917 when they killed Tsar Nicholas 11
Old Mrs Landlord
11:14 AM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Ma'at Housing Solutions at 19/07/2023 - 10:39
The Bill will make anti-social behaviour evictions no longer mandatory. Landlords will need to provide evidence from affected neighbours, local council officials, the police etc. which is not going to be easily obtained, especially in the case of persistent low-level ASB or downright disagreeable behaviour making others' lives a misery. Then, when it eventually gets to court, the outcome is discretionary, so no guarantee of success as many judges are reluctant to remove people from their homes. Meanwhile, if the tenant lives in an HMO, all the other decent tenants will have left and the landlord will be stuck with the troublemaker unless there are arrears or other grounds the landlord can use. To claim this is making it easier to evict for ASB is typical government spin.
Old Mrs Landlord
11:22 AM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Old Mrs Landlord at 19/07/2023 - 11:14My comment above was intended as a reply to Dylan Morris, not to Ma'at.
Robert Johnson
12:13 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
I wish landlords would stop bashing tenant groups, no business runs at a loss. It's their job to defend the rights of bad tenants, the ones that don't pay their rent, trash their property, ruin the lives of their neighbours, etc. These groups are there for them ensuring no effective policy is in place to address any issues they may cause. Your job as landlord is to pass on the costs to the good tenants the ones they don't ever come in to contact with, the vast majority of hard working decent tenants.
A reasonable person my conclude the system's not quite fit for purpose, but nobody is defending the rights of the reasonable person.
TheMaluka
12:28 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Robert Johnson at 19/07/2023 - 12:13
Put that way Robert everything makes sense.
northern landlord
13:44 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Seems that Shelter and Generation Rent are in some sort of p***ing contest to claim the most evictions. Actually they both missed a trick one every eight minutes assumes eviction happen 24 hrs a day but as office hours are only eight hours long, in reality it must be one every couple of minutes, surprised Shelter ( the non- housing housing Charity) or Generation Rant didn’t claim that instead!
These days landlords are seen as the Sheriff of Nottingham and any tenant who doesn’t pay their rent is probably going to be regarded as a modern day Robin Hood stealing from the rich (landlords) and giving to the poor (themselves of course).
People seem to forget that in the game of renting the ball still belongs to the landlord (just) and If the landlord takes his ball out of the game nobody gets to play.
northern landlord
13:47 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by SP at 19/07/2023 - 10:56
Renting will become the new form of owning without any responsibility once the Reform Bill kicks in.with rent being optional if Labour get in.
Monty Bodkin
14:29 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Ma'at Housing Solutions at 19/07/2023 - 10:36
"the possibility of " an eviction every 15 mins " is actually not that inconceivable."
It's not inconceivable but it's not fact either and such made up emotional statistics are going to cause a lot of pain to a lot of decent tenants.
Monty Bodkin
14:41 PM, 19th July 2023, About 10 months ago
Reply to the comment left by Dylan Morris at 19/07/2023 - 10:52
"So what grounds are being increased ?"
They're not, there's been a minor insignificant change proposed to the existing legislation.
Repeat a lie often enough and people will believe it.