Council leaders call for longer eviction notice periods to prevent homelessness

Council leaders from across the political spectrum have asked the housing secretary, Michael Gove, to support an amendment to the Renters (Reform) Bill that would give tenants more time to find a new home if they are evicted.

Sky News says it has obtained a letter, signed by 103 local authority leaders, including the leader of Rishi Sunak’s constituency council in North Yorkshire, that urges Mr Gove to increase eviction notice periods from two months to four.

The letter, which was co-ordinated by the campaign group Renters Reform Coalition, says that this change would ‘give tenants more security and time to find a new home which suits their needs in the event they are evicted’ and would ‘reduce the number of people claiming homelessness support following the end of a private tenancy’.

The Renters (Reform) Bill, which is currently going through Parliament will ban Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions which allow landlords to reclaim properties without giving a reason.

‘Scale of the crisis in the private rented sector’

The campaign manager at the Renters’ Reform Coalition, Tom Darling, told Sky News the Bill ‘has many positive aspects – but it is still insufficient to address the scale of the crisis in the private rented sector’.

He said: “The two months being proposed, like the status quo, will leave renters frantically scrambling to find a suitable new home in time, with many ending up presenting as homeless to their local council when this search comes up empty.

“Not only will increasing notice periods provide more security for England’s 11 million private renters and alleviate some of the suffering in our housing system, it will also provide some much needed respite to local authorities buckling under the growing cost of temporary accommodation.”

Evict tenants in England for specific reasons

However, under the Bill, landlords would only be able to evict tenants in England for specific reasons, such as selling their house or having a relative move in.

The Bill would keep a two-month notice period for these cases, which the Renters Reform Coalition argues is not enough for many people to secure alternative accommodation.

The coalition says that the end of private tenancies is the main cause of homelessness, with recent data showing that more than a quarter of eligible claims for homelessness support were made because a private tenancy had ended.

‘Many renters are unable to find new accommodation’

The letter states: “As you will know, Section 21 evictions are a leading cause of statutory homelessness – many renters are unable to find new accommodation in the two months available after being served an S21 eviction and end up being housed in temporary accommodation.”

The number of households living in temporary accommodation has doubled since 2012, reaching record highs, including the highest number of homeless children – more than 138,000 – since records began.

Last year, councils in England warned that spending on temporary accommodation was threatening to ‘overwhelm’ their budgets.

Analysis from the Local Government Association (LGA) last year showed that ‘at least’ £1.74bn was spent supporting 104,000 households in the year ending in March – the highest amount since records began in 1998.

And this week, London Councils warned that several London boroughs are facing bankruptcy trying to meet homelessness bills.