Hundreds of Greater Manchester tenants kicked out of their homes

The number of tenants forced out of their homes by bailiffs in 'no-fault evictions' has soared in the past year, new figures reveal. Hundreds of people were kicked out of their rented homes across Greater Manchester in 2023 after being issued Section 21 notices.

A pledge to ban 'no-fault' Section 21 evictions was made by the Conservatives in April 2019, but legislation to scrap the policy is still going through Parliament. Meanwhile, our region has seen a devastating rise in the number of tenants being kicked out of their rented homes by bailiffs, through no fault of their own.

According to the Ministry of Justice data, analysed by housing charity Shelter, there were 597 such evictions last year compared to 316 in 2022. The numbers have risen since the pandemic, after 67 'no-fault evictions' were carried out using bailiffs in 2020 across Greater Manchester, and 121 in 2021.

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The region also saw a 24 per cent increase in landlords launching Section 21 eviction claims in the court last year - up from 1,364 in 2022, to 1,691 in 2023. Again, the numbers soared after the pandemic, with 425 claims launched in 2020 and 312 in 2021.

Across England, there was a 49 per cent increase in 'no-fault evictions' using bailiffs last year, up from 6,339 to 9,457. Shelter says that since the Government first promised to scrap Section 21 evictions, more than 26,000 have been carried out across England using bailiffs.

Shelter says Section 21 evictions are a major contributing factor to rising homelessness. They allow landlords to evict tenants with two months’ notice without having to give them a reason, with bailiffs used in cases where tenants have not left before the end