“Section 21” must end
With the dissolution of Parliament before the General Election it looks like the Renters Reform Bill is now dead…
Months of campaigning work from across the housing sector has come to nothing… for now.
The message is clear, however, we have to remove the spectre of “Section 21” no-fault evictions.
“Section 21” evictions are the biggest cause of family homelessness – often resulting in a family finding themselves living in insecure, poor quality Temporary Accommodation, far from work, and schools, and support services.
Once a family is in Temporary Accommodation (TA) it can take years to find a new settled home. In the meantime education, work, health, and finances suffer… and society suffers.
TA is an expensive drain on the public purse, and whilst in TA many people stop being able to work and are forced to claim more benefits, so the associated benefits bill is increased and there is a reduction in tax paid. Because TA has an effect on health, people need the NHS more, and that adds more pressure to an already struggling system. Because children in TA miss more of their education, more interventions are needed, and there is a greater chance that they will have poorer education and therefore poorer employment outcomes – with less opportunity to contribute to society in the
long run…
A single “Section 21” eviction could cost society hundreds of thousands of pounds.
This is all without the moral question of “do we want a society where we let this happen?”
We urge parties of all sides to commit to scrapping “Section 21” no-fault evictions and as soon as possible.