Eviction used to be something that happened to other people. It felt like a rare, dramatic situation that only happened when things got really bad. But in recent years, that perception has changed across the UK.
Evictions are extremely common in modern-day Britain. Every week, 100s of households are told to leave the place they call home. Depending on your perspective, this is either an inevitable reality – homeowners reclaiming what’s theirs – or a tragic scenario that pushes people towards homelessness.
So, this begs an important question: are evictions an important part of land rights in the UK, or do steps need to be taken to give tenants more protection?
Recent changes are already changing the landscape of evictions in the UK, but there’s enormous scepticism about the government’s ability to change it overnight.
Let’s get into the finer details of evictions – including what causes them, how frequent they are, and whether anything needs to change.
Eviction isn’t a new idea – but it’s never felt so routine
Since the introduction of the feudal system in 1066, eviction has been a key part of property and land ownership in Britain. For most of British history, tenants lived with the knowledge that their right to stay was conditional.
Before the First World War, almost everyone rented. Homeownership was the exception, not the rule. Security was minimal, standards were often poor, and eviction was a constant threat. If you couldn’t pay, or if your landlord wanted you out, that was where the conversation ended.
In the second half of the 20th century, that imbalance softened quite considerably. Tenants received greater protections, which was helped by the rise in council housing. Evictions became less common in everyday life.
Then the pendulum swung again. By the 1980s, private landlords were retreating from the market, complaining that they had too little control and too much risk. The Housing Act 1988 was designed to fix that. It did, but at a price: assured shorthold tenancies became common, and with them came the ability to evict without giving a reason.
How does the eviction process work in England?
Eviction is a legal proceeding, with key steps that need to be followed. Cowboy landlords who fail to follow the process can find themselves in serious trouble.
Most private renters have assured shorthold tenancies. If a tenant breaks the rules, such as falling into rent arrears or causing serious nuisance, landlords can seek possession using a Section 8 notice. This requires specific legal grounds. If you’re unsure how much warning tenants are legally entitled to, read our guide on how much notice a landlord has to give.
Until very recently, landlords could also use Section 21 notices. These allowed possession without giving a reason. This is being phased out by the UK government, though, with support for this initiative being almost universal.
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that the majority of evictions never reach court. Tenants usually leave when asked – either because they can’t be bothered to fight, or because they don’t know their rights. Legally, those moves don’t always count as evictions, which can skew the statistics and make the reality seem better than it is.
Say goodbye to no-fault evictions (for now)
From May 2026, no-fault evictions will be abolished in England, with Section 21 replaced by a system that requires landlords to give a reason.
At a glance, it seems like a huge change, and one that has been heralded by campaigners as a big step forward. For the time being, that seems to be true. However, new governments can bring new uncertainties, and no-fault evictions may rear their head again.
Supporters of this reform point to homelessness figures. Thousands of households every year go into temporary accommodation because their tenancy ends suddenly. Councils are stretched, which makes the situation worse.
Critics argue that removing Section 21 strips landlords of flexibility. There’s a strong argument that it can make renting out properties riskier, which reduces supply and thus increases prices. Landlords may also be driven out of the market, reducing investment in much-needed new-build housing.
What are the real eviction numbers?
If you’re looking for a snapshot of the eviction numbers in the UK, then be warned: this makes for some quite uncomfortable reading.
In the year from mid-2024 to mid-2025, more than 11,400 households in England were evicted by bailiffs following Section 21 notices. During the same period, over 30,000 no-fault eviction notices were issued. At a conservative estimate, each month in the UK, roughly 950 households are evicted on Section 21 notices. This demonstrates the prevalence of this type of eviction, until recently.
According to the English Housing Survey 2022 to 2023, data suggests that the eviction crisis is overblown. 78% of private renters agreed “I currently feel safe from eviction”, while 11% disagreed. Likewise, 68% agreed their housing was secure enough to make long-term decisions, while 16% disagreed.
On the other hand, many evictions may be hidden from formal statistics due to the manner in which they occur. Of households evicted in the last 3 years, 51% were requested to leave informally. Many tenants give in to this, meaning that no formal legal notice is given, and the eviction could be categorised as something else.
Why evictions are commonplace in the UK
Evictions are not caused by a single factor – and if you’re looking for a single explanation for the rise, then you’re not going to find one. There are plenty of factors contributing to this change, and landlords are just as vulnerable to these changing tides.
Rents have risen faster than wages in many parts of the country. Housing benefit hasn’t kept pace with market rents, and social housing stock has shrunk. This leaves fewer options for tenants when private tenancies end.
Landlords, meanwhile, face higher mortgage costs, less generous tax treatment, and growing regulatory demands. Some sell up, while others pass on tax increases by raising rent. With so little supply on the market, landlords can also afford to be pushier, because there tends to be someone else in line willing to move in.
Many landlords feel that they’re being thrown under the bus by government policy, and that this is forcing their hand to evict tenants, and save themselves.
Courts add another layer of friction. Delays and costs push some landlords to seek quicker exits, while tenants facing long waits often give up before their case is heard.
Is the situation fair on landlords?
From the outside, landlords are often painted as the bad guys, but the reality is far more nuanced.
Many landlords are not corporations, but individuals. The eviction process is slow, and one mistake on a form can reset the clock. Legal fees mount, and months of lost income add up, which can make the margins on rental properties wafer-thin.
The end of Section 21 raises further questions. Selling a property or moving back into it will still be possible, but only through defined grounds. Whether that process is quick or clear enough remains to be seen. Lots of uncertainty surrounds this subject, particularly in relation to how long it’ll last and whether future governments will reverse it.
For those landlords who started with nothing and built up their portfolio with grit and hard work, it can seem unfair to be billed as the villain. Likewise, many landlords only have one rental property, meaning they have smaller margins to play with.
Is the situation fair on tenants?
For tenants, eviction can have very real impacts on their lives. If you’ve been evicted via a Section 8 notice, it might be because you’ve behaved badly, which many view as a justified reason. However, no-fault evictions can leave a truly bitter taste.
Likewise, the eviction laws passed decades ago didn’t factor in how difficult it would become to find suitable accommodation. You could argue that the previous laws were no longer fit for purpose, necessitating the recent changes.
Temporary accommodation, when it’s needed, is often far from ideal. Councils do their best, but resources are stretched. For many tenants, the experience is stressful and destabilising.
Legal rights exist, but knowledge and confidence vary. A lack of information is one of the biggest obstacles to being treated fairly. Plenty leave to avoid conflict, even when they might have more time.
Understanding your rights is crucial, including how your deposit must be handled. Learn more in our deposit protection scheme guide.
Eviction stories that shocked the nation
Every so often, an eviction cuts through the numbers and grabs national attention. You might read about these cases in the newspaper or on social media. There’s plenty that made the headlines in recent years:
The Dale Farm evictions in Essex are one of the most infamous examples. Traveller families lived there for years while legal battles raged – and when enforced eviction finally occurred, it involved bailiffs, police, protests, and huge public expense. It raised uncomfortable questions about planning law, community rights and proportionality.
Going further back, an entire Welsh community was removed from Mynydd Epynt during the Second World War. This was because the government wanted the land for military use. At first, it was described as temporary, but the land remains off-limits today.
More recent cases are smaller but still telling. There are instances when tenants are given barely more than a week to leave after a landlord changed plans – with legal loopholes used to make this possible.
These stories linger because they reveal eviction as something more than paperwork, and can often feel like an injustice.
What happens next?
The end of no-fault evictions is a major milestone, but it doesn’t mean that eviction is gone forever. It just changes how it happens.
Much depends on whether Section 8 processes are efficient, fair, and accessible. Whether courts are resourced properly and whether housing supply improves are equally important factors.
Likewise, the enforcement of these most recent laws is crucial. The truth is, it’s crucial that eviction always exists in some form. Badly behaved tenants cannot be permitted to continue occupying a space without consequences. Not only can it affect other residents in the building and neighbourhood, but it also removes the incentive to behave well in rented properties.
For years, tenants carried most of the emotional difficulty surrounding evictions, while landlords carried financial exposure. The current reforms are an attempt to rebalance, without breaking the system entirely.
Whether they succeed will depend on what comes next, not just what’s been promised.
Eviction is not a moral failure
Eviction is not a moral failure on one side or the other. It’s crucial that it remains a part of society, and in many cases, both sides have a valid perspective.
As long as homes are scarce, landlords will hold most of the power. The government aims to make evictions rarer, fairer, and less traumatic to redress this. The housing market, however, has much bigger problems, which trickle down into the eviction discussion.
The debates surrounding evictions will continue, due to how much is at stake. No country in the world has got the balance spot-on – and the UK system is just as susceptible to criticism as anywhere else.
