Nearly half a dozen Ashfield households threatened with homelessness through 'no-fault' evictions

Housing charity Shelter has urged the Government to bring forward its long-promised Renters' Reform Bill and ban Section 21 notices – also known as no-fault evictions – after it was revealed they increased by more than three-quarters in a year across England.

In Ashfield, four households were at risk of homelessness after they were served with a S21 notice between April and June, latest Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities figures show, down from 13 between January and March, and five recorded over the same period last year.

The figures refer to households assessed as needing council support to prevent them from becoming homeless. After being hit with a S21 notice, renters could be left with as little as two months to find somewhere new to live, despite the landlord not needing a reason to evict them.

Across England, 5,940 households were facing homelessness due to no-fault evictions between April and June, a 76 per cent increase on the same three months in 2021.

Polly Neate, Shelter chief executive, said this winter will be "brutal" for tenants facing the threat of rising rents and evictions.

She said: “Not a day goes by without our emergency helpline taking yet more calls from families being turfed out of their homes because of no-fault evictions.

“Many of these families won’t be able to find another rental and instead may spend a bleak winter trapped in emergency accommodation, with nowhere to cook or eat a meal, let alone put up a Christmas tree.”

She said the Government "must get on with the job" of enshrining the Renters' Reform Bill in law and protect people from the threat of homelessness over the winter.

Overall, 88 households in Ashfield were identified as homeless or at risk of becoming homeless between April and June, compared with 162 the previous quarter, and 99 a year before.

Of them, three were private tenants seeking council support due to falling into rent arrears.

The DLUHC said "no individual or their family" should be without a home this winter.

A spokesman said: "This Government is committed to abolishing Section 21 evictions, protecting 1.3 million families with children from the risk of losing their homes, and have provided £316 million this year to councils to help ensure no family is without a roof over their heads.”