Campaigning charity Shelter has renewed its calls for the abolition of S21 eviction powers.

It says new Ministry of Justice data shows the number of households removed from their homes by court bailiffs as a result of S21 is up 41 per cent in one year in England.   

Shelter claims that between April and June 2023, 2,228 households were evicted by bailiffs because of a Section 21, up from 1,578 households in the same quarter last year.  

Private landlords started 7,491 court claims to evict their tenants under Section 21 this quarter, up 35 per cent.

And the charity states that 24,060 households were threatened with homelessness as a result of a Section 21 in the past year – up by 21 per cent compared to the previous 12 months. 

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, says: “With private rents reaching record highs and no-fault evictions continuing to rise, hundreds of families risk being thrown into homelessness every day.  

“Landlords can too easily use and abuse the current system. Some will hike up the rent and if their tenants can’t pay, they will slap them with a no-fault eviction notice and find others who can. We speak to renters all the time who feel like they have zero control over their own lives because the threat of eviction is constantly hanging over them.  

“The Renters Reform Bill will make renting more secure, and for those who live in fear of the bailiffs knocking at their door, these changes can’t come soon enough. 

“The moment Parliament resumes, the government must get rid of no-fault evictions which have made the prospect of a stable home little more than a fantasy for England’s 11 million private renters.”