More than a year after Labour swept into government on a promise to overhaul England’s rental market, the number of households losing their homes through no-fault evictions has continued to climb, sparking fierce debate and renewed calls for urgent reform. According to newly released figures from the Ministry of Justice, 11,402 households were repossessed by county court bailiffs following Section 21 notices—commonly known as no-fault evictions—in the year to June 2025. This marks an 8% increase from the previous year’s 10,576 cases, continuing a troubling trend that has left thousands of renters facing uncertainty and, in many cases, homelessness.
Section 21 allows landlords to evict tenants with just two months’ notice, without having to provide any reason. Labour, in its 2024 election manifesto, pledged to “immediately abolish” this practice. Yet, as the BBC and The Independent have reported, the ban is still not in effect, with the Renters’ Rights Bill—Labour’s flagship legislation—still making its way through Parliament. The bill has passed the House of Lords but awaits a crucial debate and vote in the House of Commons, expected to take place when Parliament returns from its summer break in September 2025.
Housing charity Shelter has not minced words about the ongoing delay. Mairi MacRae, Shelter’s director of campaigns and policy, told The Independent, “It is unconscionable that more than a year after the government came to power, thousands of renters continue to be marched out of their homes by bailiffs because of an unfair policy that the government said would be scrapped immediately.” She added, “For far too long, tenants’ lives have been thrown into turmoil by the rank injustice of no-fault evictions. At the whim of private landlords, thousands of tenants are being left with just two months to find a new home, plunging them into a ruthless rental market and leaving many exposed to the riptide of homelessness.”
The statistics underpinning these concerns are stark. Shelter’s analysis suggests that for every month the ban is delayed, around 950 households could be evicted by bailiffs. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice’s latest data shows 30,729 possession claims issued under the accelerated procedure in the year to June 2025—a 4% decrease from the previous year, but still a significant figure. The Renters’ Reform Coalition, as cited by PA Media, argues that this decline “blows apart the myth of a ‘landlord exodus’ and eviction surge caused by the Renters’ Rights Bill,” urging the government to press ahead with abolishing Section 21.
The government insists it remains committed to reform. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government told BBC News, “No one should live in fear of a Section 21 eviction and these new figures show exactly why we will abolish them through our Renters’ Rights Bill. We’re determined to level the playing field by providing tenants with greater security, rights and protections in their homes and our landmark reforms will be implemented swiftly after the bill becomes law.”
The Renters’ Rights Bill, as currently drafted, would introduce a 12-month “protected period” for new tenants, during which they cannot be evicted if the landlord wishes to move in or sell the property. After this first year, landlords would be required to give tenants four months’ notice (double the current period) and provide a specific reason for ending a tenancy. The bill would also prevent landlords from relisting a property for rent within six months if they have ended a tenancy in order to sell—a move designed to close loopholes that have allowed so-called ‘backdoor evictions’ or rent hikes to force tenants out.
Not all evictions are covered by the proposed reforms. Landlords would still be able to evict tenants for reasons such as non-payment of rent or criminal behaviour. However, the changes are intended to provide far greater stability and predictability for renters, who have long complained of insecurity and the threat of sudden eviction.
Yet, even as the government moves to reassure tenants, landlords and their representatives have raised concerns about the transition. The National Residential Landlords Association, quoted by BBC News, echoed calls for the government to set a clear implementation date for the changes, warning that “a lack of certainty” has “led to a great deal of confusion and concern amongst landlords.” The association also highlighted an increase of more than two weeks in the average length of the court process for recovering properties over the past year, and stressed that “it is essential that we have clarity about what support will be given to the courts service to ensure it is able to cope with the added pressures which will be created by these reforms.”
The political stakes surrounding the issue were thrown into sharp relief earlier this month, when homelessness minister Rushanara Ali resigned following revelations about her handling of a property she rented out. As reported by The i newspaper, Ali gave tenants four months’ notice in November 2024 that their lease would not be renewed, and the property was relisted at £700 a month higher rent shortly after they moved out. Ali insisted she had “at all times” followed “all legal requirements” and taken her responsibilities “seriously,” but acknowledged that her continued presence in government would be “a distraction from the ambitious work of the Government.” The incident underscored the urgency—and the sensitivities—of the reforms now before Parliament.
Homelessness charity Crisis has also weighed in, with chief executive Matt Downie urging ministers to “rebuff efforts to weaken the Renters’ Rights Bill and get this new legislation onto the statute book as soon as possible when Parliament returns.” Downie added, “Despite good intentions from the Westminster government, thousands of people are still being unjustly evicted from their homes and threatened with—or even forced into—homelessness.” Crisis has also called for the government to unfreeze housing benefit in the autumn, arguing that more people in England could then afford a safe and stable home.
Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill is expected to pass before the end of 2025 or early 2026, according to The Independent. Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook had previously expressed hope it would be passed “within the first half or around summer next year.” However, with the bill’s final passage still pending, campaigners remain anxious for a firm implementation date to be set—one that will finally bring an end to Section 21 no-fault evictions and the turmoil they create.
As Parliament prepares to reconvene, the fate of thousands of renters hangs in the balance, waiting for promises to become reality and for England’s rental landscape to be reshaped—perhaps at last—for the better.