Section 21s: Almost one million renters given no-fault evictions since Tories promised to scrap them
Almost one million private renters in England have been handed no-fault evictions since the Conservative government promised to abolish them, new data has shown.
Research carried out by YouGov on behalf of homelessness charity Shelter – and shared exclusively with Sky News – showed that since April 2019 a total of 943,000 people had been given Section 21 notices, which is the equivalent of more than 500 renters every day.
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The figures also showed unwanted moves were costing private renters in England £550m a year, with 830,000 people having to move in the last 12 months alone due to either their fixed tenancies coming to an end, being priced out by rent increases or being served with a Section 21.
Add in the soaring upfront costs for rents and deposits and unwanted moves are costing more than £1bn a year – or an average of £1,245 per person.
Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive, said tenants were “bearing the cost of the government’s inaction” and warned any further delays to banning no-fault evictions would see more people “tipped into homelessness”.
But Levelling Up minister Jacob Young defended the government. He said abolishing Section 21s was “the biggest change to the private rented sector in more than 30 years” so it “takes time to make sure we get it right”.
In England, the equivalent of more than 500 renters a day are being evicted through no fault of their own. Pic: iStock
A Section 21 notice is the legal mechanism allowing landlords to evict tenants without providing a reason, which creates uncertainty for those who rent their homes.
The government first promised to ban them five years ago this week – back when Theresa May was still in Number 10.
Yet despite subsequent Conservative leaders pledging to see through the policy, it still hasn’t come into law – with the housing secretary announcing an indefinite delay to the Renters Reform Bill last month.
‘I had a meltdown’
Natalie was served with two Section 21 notices within 18 months.
The 47-year-old from Brighton told Sky News she received the first one just after COVID and she took it in her stride. She said: “It wasn’t an ideal rental, it was quite dilapidated… but I had got into quite a good relationship with the landlord and I wasn’t freaking out. They just wanted to sell their flat and get out of the rental market.”
However, the relationship soon soured and turned into a “nasty environment” as she struggled to find a new home in a market with soaring costs and poor quality places.
“You couldn’t even see a property without having a £35k guarantor or you would have to have a whole year’s rent in advance and it just turned into a figures game,” said Natalie.
“If you don’t look good on paper, you are not going to get to see a flat, you are not going to be considered for it. You are not going to tick all the boxes. It is financial discrimination.”
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Natalie faced two no-fault evictions within 18 months
After staying with friends for two months, Natalie found a new property, but in the first three weeks, it had flooded, and she noticed day by day the “shoddy workmanship”.
And after a year, again through no fault of her own, she got a call from the estate agent to say the rent was going up by £150 a month and she would need to leave.
Natalie said she had a “meltdown”.
“It’s an awful thing, not feeling like you’re an adult and not being able to support yourself or find space in a location you have decided is home – finding out that it doesn’t mean anything that you have been living there for 21 years,” she said.
She added: “I’d like people to be able to have a home if we are living in a so-called civilised society. How’s anybody supposed to get anywhere without having their home? It should just be like water and air – we all need that to function.
“Something really drastic needs to be done.”
Tories criticised for ‘excuse’ holding back change
Mr Young, the Levelling Up minister, told Sky News his “hope” and “primary focus” was to see the bill passed, banning Section 21s for new tenancies before the next general election – which must take place before the end of January 2025.
But he couldn’t “give a commitment on a solid date” for the ban to also apply to existing tenancies, meaning millions – including Natalie – would continue to be at risk of losing their homes.
“We have to do this in a proportionate and phased way, working with the sector to make sure our reforms are actually effective,” he told Sky News.
“If we were to abolish everything straightaway, that would create a lot of uncertainty in the sector.”
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However, Shelter’s Ms Neate argued the reason for the delay was not about getting the legislation right, but about “bowing to backbench landlords”.
A group of Tory MPs – a number of whom are landlords themselves – raised concerns the courts were not prepared for the legal cases that could result from the simpler mechanism being outlawed.
As a result, the government said Section 21s would remain in place until an assessment had been made of whether the legal system could handle the changes.
But Ms Neate called it an “excuse”. She said: “The reason why they’re delaying is because they’re under pressure from their own backbenchers, many of whom are landlords, who just don’t want to see no-fault evictions ending.
“Why you would want the right to evict somebody for absolutely no reason is beyond me, frankly.”
She added: “Our frontline services every single day are seeing the worst effects of this.
“Section 21 no-fault eviction is one of the leading causes of homelessness in this country. And that’s why we’re so eager for the government to end it.”
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Mr Young denied there were “vested interests” in his party and said he did not “begrudge” his colleagues for having rental properties.
He said: “We can’t just listen to one side of the sector in this argument. It has to be that we’re delivering a bill that benefits both tenants and landlords.
“This bill is about protecting good tenants and landlords, and pitting them against the rogue actors in the system.”
Revealing his own aunt had been subject to a Section 21 just before Christmas, Mr Young added: “It takes time to make sure that we get it right. There are 11 million renters in the country. If we get it wrong for those 11 million renters, that doesn’t help them at all.
“I know the uncertainty that [Section 21s] can provide to families. That’s why I’m committed to abolishing it. That’s why I’m focused on delivering this.”
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Conservative minister Jacob Young defended the government, despite his aunt being subject to a Section 21 before Christmas
Matthew Pennycook, Labour’s shadow minister for housing and planning, said his party is committed to ending the “ever-present fear” of Section 21s “immediately” if it gets into power – and would put forward amendments for government legislation to speed up the process.
He told Sky News the abolition of no-fault evictions could be done “overnight” if the Conservatives chose to, leading to “a stable private rental system… [where] families can live and thrive in what should be their homes, not just an asset that can just be taken back at a moment’s notice”.
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Labour promises ‘immediate’ end to no-fault evictions
Mr Pennycook also said he believed the court system could “cope” with the changes, but added: “I think what private tenants would argue is [the government has] had five years to get to the point where that they can introduce a system to honour this commitment to abolish Section 21 notices, and they’ve played around for far too long.
“We think they’re selling out to vested interests in bringing these changes forward.”
Retail sales rose a surprising amount in July, as good weather and the Women’s Euros led people to part with their cash, official figures show.
The amount of spending rose 0.6% in July, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), far above the 0.2% rise anticipated by economists polled by Reuters.
In particular, clothing and footwear stores, as well as online shopping, experienced strong growth.
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When looked at on a three-month basis, the numbers are weaker, with a 0.6% fall in sales up to July due in part to downward revisions in June.
Spending has declined since March, when supermarkets, sports shops, and household goods saw strong sales at the beginning of the year as warm and sunny weather pushed summer purchases earlier. Though compared to a year ago, sales are up 1.1%.
Fans gather during a Homecoming Victory Parade in London after England’s win in the final of the Women’s Euros. Pic: PA
Retail sales figures are significant as they measure household consumption, the largest expenditure in the UK economy.
Growing retail sales can mean economic growth, which the government has repeatedly said is its top priority.
A problem with the figures
These figures were originally due to be published in August but were delayed by two weeks so the ONS could carry out “quality assurance” checks.
Following the checks, the statistics body found a “problem”, which meant it had to correct seasonally adjusted figures.
It hasn’t been the only question mark over the reliability of ONS figures.
In March, UK trade figures were delayed due to errors from 2023, and the office continues to advise caution in interpreting changes in the monthly unemployment rate due to concerns over data reliability.
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UK growth slowed amid rising costs in June.
As a result of the latest error, previously monthly figures overstated the monthly volatility in the first five months of 2025, the ONS’s director general of economic statistics, James Benford, said.
Mr Benford apologised for the release delay and for the errors.
What could it mean?
It could mean retrospective changes to the UK economic growth rate, according to Rob Wood, the chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
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April’s economic growth rate will be revised down, and May’s will be moved up as a result, Mr Wood said.
There will be no impact on the Bank of England’s interest rate decision, he added.
A greater proportion of electric cars were sold last month than at any point this year, industry data shows.
More than a quarter (26.5%) of cars sold in August were electric vehicles (EVs), according to figures from motor lobby group the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
It’s the largest amount of sales since December 2024 and comes as the government introduced financial incentives to help drivers make the move to zero tailpipe emission cars.
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The full suite of grants were not available during the month, however, with a further 35 models eligible for £1,500 off early in September.
Throughout August more models became eligible for price reductions, meaning more consumers could be tempted to purchase an EV in September.
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New EV grants to drive sales came into effect in July
The increased percentage of EV sales came despite an overall 2% drop in buying, compared to a year earlier, in what is typically the quietest month for car purchases.
What are the rules?
The numbers suggest the car industry could be on course to meet the government’s zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate, the thinktank Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) has said.
It stipulates that new petrol and diesel cars may not be sold from 2030.
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Amid pressure from industry, the government altered the mandate in April to allow for hybrid vehicles, which are powered by both fuel and a battery, to be sold until 2035.
Sales of new petrol and diesel vans are also permitted until 2035.
Until then, 28% of cars sold must be electric this year, with the share rising to 33% in 2026, 38% in 2027 and 66% in 2029, the final year before the new combustion engine ban.
Manufacturers face fines for not meeting the targets.
Last year, the objective of making 22% of all car sales purely EVs was surpassed, with EVs comprising 24.3% of the total sold in 2024.
Why?
The increased portion of EV sales can be attributed to increased model choice and discounting, on top of the government reductions, the SMMT said.
Savings from running an electric car are also enticing motorists, the ECIU said. “Demand for used EVs is already surging because they can offer £1,600 a year in savings in owning and running costs.”
“This matters for regular families as the pipeline of second-hand EVs is dependent on new car sales, which hit the used market after around three to four years.
Businesses have cut jobs at the fastest pace in almost four years, according to a closely-watched Bank of England survey which also paints a worrying picture for employment and wage growth ahead.
Its Decision Maker Panel (DMP) data, taken from chief financial officers across 2,000 companies, showed employment levels over the three months to August were 0.5% lower than in the same period a year earlier.
It amounted to the worst decline since autumn 2021 as firms grappled with the implementation of budget measures in the spring that raised their national insurance contributions and minimum wage levels, along with business rates for many.
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The start of April also witnessed the escalation in Donald Trump’s global trade war which further damaged sentiment, especially among exporters to the United States.
The survey showed no improvement in hiring intentions in the tough economy, with companies expecting to reduce employment levels by 0.5% over the coming year.
That was the weakest outlook projection since October 2020.
At the same time, the panel also showed that participants planned to raise their own prices by 3.8% over the next 12 months. That is in line with the current rate of inflation.
The news on wages was no better as the central forecast was for an average rise of 3.6% – down from the 4.6% seen over the past 12 months.
If borne out, it would mean private sector wages rising below the rate of inflation – erasing household and business spending power.
The Bank of England has been relying on data such as the DMP amid a lack of confidence in official employment figures produced by the Office for National Statistics due to low response rates.
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Bank governor Andrew Bailey told a committee of MPs on Wednesday that he was now less sure over the pace of interest rate cuts ahead owing to stubborn inflation in the economy.
The consumer prices index measure is expected to peak at 4% next month – double the Bank’s target rate – from the current level.
Higher interest rates only add to company costs and make them less likely to borrow for investment purposes.
At the same time, employers are fearful that the coming budget, set for late November, may contain no relief.
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Why aren’t we hearing about the budget ‘black hole’?
Sky News revealed on Thursday how the head of the banking sector’s main lobby group had written to the chancellor to warn that any additional levy on bank profits, as suggested by a think-tank last week, would only damage her search for growth.
Rachel Reeves is believed to be facing a black hole in the public finances amounting to £20bn-£40bn.
Tax rises are believed to be inevitable, given her commitment to fiscal rules concerning borrowing by the end of the parliament.
Heightened costs associated with servicing such debts following recent bond sell-offs across Western economies have made more borrowing even less palatable.
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Why did UK debt just get more expensive?
Ms Reeves is expected to raise some form of wealth tax, while other speculation has included a shake-up of council tax.
She has consistently committed not to target working people but the Bank of England data, and official ONS figures, would suggest that businesses have responded to 2024 budget measures by cutting jobs since April, with hospitality and retail among the worst hit.
Commenting on the data, Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “The DMP survey shows stubborn wage and price pressures despite falling employment, continuing to suggest that structural economic changes and supply weakness are keeping inflation high.
“The MPC [monetary policy committee of the Bank of England] will have to be cautious, so we remain comfortable assuming no more rate cuts this year.”
“That said, the increasing signs of labour market weakness suggest dovish risks,” he concluded.
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