Government figures challenge prevailing media narrative on Section 21 evictions
Despite widespread media claims that landlords are driving the homelessness crisis by evicting tenants en-masse, new government data tells a more nuanced story — with evidence showing that private landlords are not the principal cause behind rising homelessness.
The latest statistics from the Statutory Homelessness in England report reveal that while Section 21 “no-fault” evictions continue to play a role, they account for a declining share of the overall picture. In the first quarter of 2025, 6,640 households were threatened with homelessness due to the serving of a Section 21 notice — a decrease of nearly 2% from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, far more significant growth has occurred elsewhere. The number of households required to leave Home Office asylum support accommodation has surged by nearly 50%, reaching 1,920. This sharp rise now represents a major and growing driver of homelessness.
The report, which tracks local authorities’ legal duties to assist households at risk of or experiencing homelessness, outlines two key interventions: the prevention duty for those at risk within 56 days, and the relief duty for those already homeless.
Family Breakdown a Leading Cause
One of the most common triggers for homelessness remains the breakdown of informal living arrangements. In the latest figures, 8,890 households — nearly a quarter (23.6%) of all those owed a prevention duty — lost their homes because family or friends were no longer willing or able to accommodate them.
Even broader data supports the trend: of those owed a relief duty, 13,470 households were homeless due to being turned away by family or friends — a situation that, while slightly down from last year, still makes up nearly 30% of relief cases.
Falling Numbers Linked to Private Renting
Contrary to claims of widespread evictions by private landlords, the number of households owed a prevention duty due to the end of an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) dropped by 7.7% compared to the same quarter in 2024. At 13,790 households, this now represents a smaller proportion of prevention duty cases than previously recorded.
Of these, 8,950 cases stemmed from landlords either selling (6,520) or re-letting (2,430) their properties — not necessarily evicting tenants “on a whim,” but potentially exiting the market due to shifting economic or regulatory pressures.
While the private rented sector (PRS) remains a key part of the housing landscape, its role in homelessness is diminishing. The proportion of households in PRS at the point of application fell to 43.2% — down over 9% compared to the same quarter in 2024. This marks a 2.2 percentage point drop, suggesting that homelessness is increasingly stemming from other types of accommodation.
Domestic Abuse, Not Landlords, Behind Many Cases
The data also highlights other critical factors behind homelessness. Domestic abuse was the reason 7,110 households were owed a relief duty — accounting for 15.5% of all such cases. This issue alone outweighs the number linked to Section 21 evictions.
Additionally, the most common type of accommodation for households owed relief duties was living with family (22.8%), reinforcing that many cases arise from personal circumstances rather than landlord actions.
Temporary Accommodation Hits Record Highs
While the causes of homelessness are shifting, the consequences remain stark. As of 31 March 2025, a record 131,140 households were living in temporary accommodation — a rise of 2.6% from the previous quarter and an 11.8% jump year-on-year. Within these households, nearly 169,000 children were being raised in temporary housing arrangements.
A Call for Balanced Perspective
The data paints a more complex picture than commonly portrayed. While landlord-related evictions remain part of the broader housing challenge, they are not the dominant force behind the rise in homelessness. In fact, reductions in AST terminations and Section 21 cases suggest that other societal and systemic pressures — including changes to asylum policy, family breakdowns, and domestic abuse — are playing a far greater role.
As homelessness continues to reach record levels, policymakers and media outlets may need to look beyond the private rented sector to understand and address the root causes.