Thousands of people are made homeless every year because of a loophole which allows landlords to evict tenants who do nothing wrong.
Many end up stuck in emergency accommodation – like caravans and budget hotels – for months. Campaigners say some are victims of so-called “revenge evictions” after complaining about dire conditions.
These occur when landlords decide it’s easier to evict tenants than carry out repairs. And faced by that reality, many more accept inhumane conditions for fear of being made homeless.
Among those facing the boot is mum Claire Wanless, 29, who was served with a notice to leave in November. She pays £600 a month to rent a three-bed house – but says it is riddled with damp and has the remains of a cannabis farm in the loft.
Worried Claire says: “We don’t have any family who can take us in, so we’ll have nowhere to go.”
As part of our Safe as Houses campaign, the Sunday Mirror demands the Government bans the practice – permitted under the Housing Act – once and for all. Since the Tories promised to act in April 2019, more than 25,000 families have been turfed out despite having done nothing wrong.
The Government again promised to outlaw the practice as part of levelling up proposals announced on Wednesday. But it didn’t say when.
Claire and cinema worker partner Gary Dormer, 44, were served with a notice to quit after complaining about their Liverpool home. They consulted a solicitor after a lack of action – then received the eviction notice. A day after that Claire went into labour three weeks early with baby Kimberley, now two months old.
Claire, also mum to Bryony, three, and Francesca, one, says: “First thing I noticed was the kitchen sink leaking. There is black mould on the back. When you wash the dishes, it stinks. Then the loft was all covered in plastic bags, with heaps of soil. Police confirmed it had been a cannabis farm. Most of it is still up there to this day.
“One light in my daughter’s bedroom doesn’t work so we’ve been told just not to touch it. We reported it through the proper channels but after seven months of very little to no repairs, I’d had enough, so I consulted a solicitor. That’s when I found out about no-fault evictions. The landlady is within her rights to kick us out.”
Claire and Gary are challenging the date of the eviction notice and have even offered to sort some repairs themselves in a bid to stay. But they live in fear bailiffs might come any day.
The family’s landlord did not respond when asked for comment.
John Lowry, director and head of housing disrepair at CEL Solicitors, said there is little tenants can do. He added: “If you do bring a claim, you have to accept there is a risk you could be evicted on a section 21 notice. It’s why a lot of clients don’t bring claims. They’d rather have a property in disrepair than no property.”
Tenants are also moved on so owners can use property for holiday lets. Former Lib Dem leader Tim Farron – who represents Westmorland and Lonsdale in the Lake District – raised the issue in parliament last month, saying: “Among the hundreds evicted, I think of the couple with two small children who struggled to pay £800 a month for their flat above a shop. They were evicted only to find the home they had lived in for years on Airbnb for £1,200 a week.”
Osama Bhutta of homeless charity Shelter said: “Renters have had a rotten deal for years. Our emergency helpline is flooded with calls from people terrified of losing their homes.” Labour ’s shadow housing minister, Matthew Pennycook called for “emergency legislation now – not more warm words”.
A Communites Department spokesman said: “We’re reforming the rental sector to make it fairer, including banning ‘no-fault’ evictions. We will bring forward legislation as soon as we are able.”
Safe as Houses campaign demands- we want to see:
- The complaints system overhauled so tenants’ issues have to be resolved within a set period of time.
- An ban on so-called “no fault” evictions.
- A national landlord register to ensure safety standards are met.
'Damp, rats... and we were still booted out'
Retired shopkeeper Glenise Hutchens says she and husband John put up with damp and rats but were still were evicted from their home of 21 years.
They paid £320 a month for the two-bed property in Gorran Haven, Cornwall. They fear the landlord felt it was easier to ask them to leave than pay for repairs.
Glenise, 77, and ex-soldier John, 83, left hours before bailiffs were due. They are in emergency accommodation on an isolated farm and John, who has dementia, struggles in new surroundings. They are not on a bus route, can’t drive and have missed hospital visits because they can’t afford taxis.
Glenise said: “The eviction notice was delivered by a solicitor. I was heartbroken. I cried. I said, ‘We don’t owe any money – why are they doing this to us?’ He said they were finding [the upkeep] financially difficult.
“It was damp, shabby and uncared for, but we spent a lot of time decorating it, and it was our home. There were rats – we spent a fortune on poison.”
The couple’s landlady – daughter of the original owner – agreed the property was in poor condition, saying: “I really tried my best for them, calling the council all the time to try and get them a really good outcome.
“The situation is just terrible for social housing. There’s nobody in there now and nobody going in. It was not good enough for anybody and I wouldn’t have wanted anyone in there.”
'We were kicked out after mouldy home plea'
College student Laura Williams, 34, and fisherman husband Jason, 39, have been living in a caravan since being evicted in November.
The couple, with children aged nine, seven, four and two, lived in a three-bed home in Newlyn, Cornwall, for four years, paying £750 a month. They complained about mould – fearing it aggravated the kids’ asthma – and a water tank stopped working.
An eviction notice was served just weeks after Laura outlined the issues in detail to a managing agent.
She said: “There is a massive housing crisis in Cornwall. We put in a bid for a council house and there were 82 other applicants. Private lets are so expensive because there are so many second homes and Airbnbs.
“My mental health has plummeted and I’m on antidepressants. It’s been horrendous explaining it to the children. One asks, ‘When can we go home, Mum?’ He doesn’t understand we don’t have a home any more.”
Government pledged action three years ago
The Government vowed to end no-fault eviction three years ago but no action has been taken.
Campaigners want private tenants to have the same rights as those in social housing, where occupants can only be evicted if in breach of their tenancy.
Stopping no-fault evictions would mean landlords could only take back a property for a limited number of reasons – for example, to live in it, or to sell it.
Financial penalties could be imposed to deter profiteering landlords from re-using the property as a holiday let, or renting it out to new tenants at a higher price. Compensation could be paid to evicted tenants.
