Landlords try to evict nearly 100 Brighton households in three months

There were 96 claims filed to repossess properties in Brighton and Hove between October and December last year.

Of those, 53 were the controversial Section 21 notices, otherwise known as no fault evictions.

The government first vowed to end Section 21 evictions in 2019 but the rental reforms have not yet been passed.

Housing secretary Michael Gove told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme the Renters Reform Bill currently going through Parliament “ends section 21”.

However, the government last year said the abolition would not come in until reforms in the court system to ensure it is also a fair process for landlords, lead to accusations ministers were “deprioritising” the issue.

Asked whether the practice will have ended by the time of a national vote, Mr Gove said: “We will have outlawed it and we will put the money into the courts in order to ensure that they can enforce it.”

Tenants across England and Wales were evicted from their homes on approximately 6,600 occasions in the latest quarter, including 35 evictions in Brighton and Hove.

Michael Gove (Image: Agency)

Of them, 15 evictions were carried out by court ordered bailiffs as a result of Section 21 proceedings.

Polly Neate, chief executive of housing charity Shelter, said: “We’re pleased to hear the housing secretary reaffirm his commitment to ban no fault evictions before the next election.

“But these figures show that renters are still being marched out of their homes in their thousands, while vested interests in parliament manoeuvre to weaken urgently needed reforms.

“Without serious amends, this bill won’t be worth the paper it’s written on. There cannot be any loopholes to banning no-fault evictions and it must not be tied to unspecified court reforms.

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“It must deliver the meaningful change it promised to England’s 11 million private renters almost five years ago.”

Francesca Albanese, executive director of policy and social change at homelessness charity Crisis, said: “These figures are a shameful reminder of just how volatile renting a home is.

“Insurmountable pressures of sky rocketing rents and the cost-of-living crisis have left renters struggling to make ends meet, and for many, that has meant losing their home.”