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<h1><b>One family told to leave their home every 8 minutes in England as
no-fault evictions soar – ITV
News</b></h1>
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13 November 2023</a> <a href="https://tlio.org.uk/author/tony/">Tony
Gosling</a>
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<font size=5>‘We’ve been treated like criminals’: Families left desperate
and homeless as no-fault evictions soar<br>
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<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-11-09/families-left-desperate-and-homeless-as-no-fault-evictions-soar">
VIDEO
REPORT:</a></b>
<a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2023-11-09/families-left-desperate-and-homeless-as-no-fault-evictions-soar">
Friday 10 November 2023 – Daniel Hewitt – Investigations
Correspondent</a><br><br>
<img src="cid:7.0.1.0.1.20231113211138.052fadf0@cultureshop.org.uk.0" width=824 height=471 alt="Emacs!">
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A record number of families are being evicted from their homes through no
fault of their own.<br><br>
Victims of Section 21 eviction claims, ITV News Investigations
Correspondent Daniel Hewitt spoke to some of vulnerable families being
left with nowhere else to go<br><br>
The number of no-fault evictions taking place in England has risen to its
highest level in seven years, as an ITV News investigation finds families
being made homeless with nowhere else to go.<br><br>
Ministry of Justice data shows the number of Section 21 eviction claims –
otherwise known as ‘no-fault’ evictions as the landlord does not have to
state a reason – have jumped by 38%.<br><br>
Between July and September 2023, 8,399 Section 21 eviction claims were
taken to court by landlords, compared to 6,092 in the same period last
year.<br><br>
The number of bailiff repossessions also jumped by 29% to 2,307, the
highest since before the pandemic.<br><br>
The government has promised to scrap Section 21 evictions since 2019, but
Housing Secretary Michael Gove has cast doubt on whether it will happen
before the next general election – after promising to reform the court
system in England before bringing in a ban.<br><br>
Increased mortgage rates have seen landlords increase rental prices, or
in other cases decide to sell their properties. Landlords also point to
changes to the tax system which have made renting out properties less
lucrative.<br><br>
Under reforms to the private rental sector currently going through
Parliament, landlords will still be able to evict their tenants if they
can prove they wish to sell their property.<br><br>
The issue for many families is the lack of affordable housing to move
to.<br><br>
An ITV News investigation has seen first-hand the impact on families
evicted through Section 21.<br><br>
In Northampton, Carol, her daughter and two grandchildren have privately
rented their home for almost a decade. They have never missed a rent
payment and have been good tenants.<br><br>
They were notified earlier this year that the landlord wanted to sell the
property and were given eight weeks to leave. Despite both working, Carol
and her daughter couldn’t find anywhere affordable to rent, and were told
that the local council had no properties for them.<br><br>
They went to court, but they lost their case. Right now, the law is on
the landlords’ side.<br><br>
On the day of their eviction, with the bailiffs waiting outside, Carol
told me the family had nowhere to go once they handed back the
keys.<br><br>
‘I wake up some mornings and wish I had died in my sleep,’ Carol told ITV
News Investigations Correspondent Daniel Hewitt that her life cover would
help her loved ones escape homelessness<br><br>
At 10am, the bailiffs walked through the door. They didn’t even knock –
the property was theirs to take.<br><br>
The moment Carol and her daughter walked out – the home they’ve lived in
for nearly a decade with two little boys aged three and five – the
locksmiths moved in. It is a swift and brutal process.<br><br>
An increasing number of Section 21 evictions are ending up in court,
driven in part by a chronic shortage of affordable housing – both in the
private sector and in social housing.<br><br>
ITV News has seen evidence of councils advising tenants who receive a
Section 21 to not leave after eight weeks – as stated in the eviction
notice – and instead go through the court process all the way through to
a court-ordered bailiff repossession.<br><br>
In Luton, Charlotte, her husband and three sons have privately rented the
same home for 10 years, but received a Section 21 notice stating the
landlord wanted to sell the house.<br><br>
Like Carol, they can’t find anywhere they can afford on the private
rental market, and the council have told them they will only consider
them for housing once they have been evicted.<br><br>
Charlotte’s husband works full-time, so they don’t qualify for legal aid,
but they also can’t afford a solicitor. It means Charlotte has no choice
but to represent herself in court.<br><br>
‘I have nowhere to go, I don’t know what I’m going to do’: Charlotte has
been told she has just six weeks to find a new home with her husband and
two children, or bailiffs will be sent to evict them<br><br>
We met her after her case was heard. Like Carol in Northampton, she
lost.<br><br>
The law does not protect tenants against no-fault evictions.<br><br>
Housing charities insist the government must ban Section 21 before the
next election, and say renters are living in fear of eviction.<br><br>
“It beggars belief that this government is prepared to use cynical
tactics to delay the banning of no-fault evictions, while record numbers
of renters are being removed from their homes without cause,” said Polly
Neate of Shelter.<br><br>
“Renters have waited four long years for the government to come good on
scrapping Section 21, to make that now dependent on unspecified court
reforms taking place is ludicrous.<br><br>
“Renters shouldn’t have to live for one more day with the fear they can
be evicted from their home for no reason, knowing that once that notice
lands on their doormat, there is nothing they can do.”<br><br>
A government spokesperson said: “Our landmark Renters Reform Bill offers
better protections for tenants and gives them greater security to
challenge poor conditions in their homes.<br><br>
“We are abolishing section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions and the Bill passing
through Parliament will see this happen.”<br><br>
If you or someone you know is homeless, facing eviction, or want to get
in touch with us about your housing issue, please email us at
<a href="mailto:housingstories@itv.com">housingstories@itv.com</a><br><br>
<br><br>
One family told to leave their home every 8 minutes in England<br>
Carol has lived in her home for 10 years. Today she waited as bailiffs
evicted her, her daughter and two grandchildren.<br>
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