Just over 7,000 households in London have been threatened with homelessness in the past three years alone after being issued with a Section 21 eviction notice, Labour claims.
Labour’s London Assembly housing spokesperson Sem Moema has made the claim ahead of today’s Queen’s Speech which is expected to announce the scrapping of Section 21.
Moema claims the figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as the government only record S21 evictions that have – she says – “led to the threat of homelessness.”
The proposal to ban these evictions, as part of the Renters’ Reform Bill, went through a consultation stage between July and October 2019.
Last year’s Queen’s Speech announced the government’s intention to publish a policy white paper on the Bill – this was originally expected in Autumn 2021, but was pushed back.
Moema says: “It is a scandal that the government’s inaction on banning Section 21 evictions has led to thousands of Londoners facing homelessness and having their lives uprooted.
“Over the last three years, ministers have had multiple opportunities to put an end to this injustice, but have passed up on every single one.
“Section 21 can be used as a loophole for revenge evictions, placing yet more pressures on overstretched and underfunded councils. So, alongside a coalition of housing charities and campaigners, I have kept the pressure on the Government to stick to their promise and push through the Renters’ Reform Bill.
“The half-hearted commitment in the Levelling Up strategy to outlaw no fault evictions by 2030 is not good enough and this must now be pushed through in [the] Queen’s Speech”.
https://www.lettingagenttoday.co.uk/breaking-news/2022/5/labour-claims-thousands-threatened-with-homelessness-by-s21
