More at risk of becoming homeless thanks to no-fault evictions in Bedford Bedford News

More households were threatened with homelessness by no-fault evictions in Bedford last fall than before the pandemic, new figures show.

Despite a recent government promise to scrap them, landlords are still able to evict tenants through a Section 21 notice, which can give tenants as little as eight weeks’ notice to vacate. – sometimes for no reason – once the duration is fixed in their lease. the agreement expires.

Housing campaigners say these so-called no-fault evictions have contributed to worsening homelessness in the UK.

Data from the Department of Leveling, Housing and Communities shows that 37 households in Bedford were left homeless or at risk of homelessness between October and December last year after receiving notices under the section 21.

This is an increase from the 11 households at risk of homelessness for the same reason from October to December 2019, before the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Across England, 5,260 households were left homeless due to no-fault evictions in the last three months of 2021, a 37% increase on 2019.

Shelter, a charity working to end homelessness, described the no-fault evictions as “brutal, brutal and indiscriminate”.

Chief executive Polly Neate said: “If landlords follow the process, as things stand they can evict people from their homes for no reason – and tenants are powerless to do anything about it. topic.”

The same government data shows that a total of 149 households were left homeless in Bedford between October and December.

This compares to 156 households assessed as homeless during the same period in 2019.

Of those already considered homeless, 70 found housing last fall.

Alicia Kennedy, director of housing campaign group Generation Rent, said a booming housing market is to blame for a rise in evictions nationwide.

“With house prices and rents soaring, landlords have profited from selling or replacing their tenants with people who can afford to pay more.

“The cost of this upheaval falls on the tenants themselves and on the local authorities solicited.”

She said the government “must act” to provide a more stable rental market.

According to the same figures, 8,530 households in England were supported by the councils last autumn because their landlord was evicting them to sell or re-let the property – including 54 households in Bedford.

A total of 33,800 households have been made homeless in the same period for some reason across England, including 8,410 families with children.

A spokesman for the Department of Leveling, Housing and Communities said it was proposing reforms to help tenants, including ending no-fault evictions.

> Earlier this year, figures from the Department for Leveling, Housing and Communities showed that 1,087 households in Bedford sought help from the council after becoming homeless between April 2020 and the end of September 2021.

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