NRLA challenges Shelter report findings

Following the publication of new Shelter research which argues that the rate of Section 21 evictions has risen significantly, the NRLA today publishes an open letter to Shelter's CEO Polly Neate that challenges its findings.

The letter, written by our CEO Ben Beadle, refutes the report's claim that a tenant is evicted using the Section 21 eviction route on average once every seven minutes.

Ben argues that the research provides a "disappointingly one-sided picture which has the potential to create needless anxiety for tenants that their landlord is about to evict them for no reason".

Expanding on this point Ben cites English Housing Survey data, which shows that "amongst those whose tenancy ended over the previous year, 91.9% were ended up the tenant themselves rather than by being asked to leave by their landlord or letting agent". Moreover, other government data reveals how a majority of landlords seek to keep rent at the same level.

Aside from providing official statistics which contradict these findings, Ben's letter also rebuts other misleading claims - and notes omissions - from last week's research. These include:

• Shelter's failure to demonstrate that if a renter was to be served with a Section 21 eviction notice once every seven minutes, this would equate to just 0.7% of the 11 million private renters Shelter claims live in England.
• That the number of Section 21 possession cases brought to court actually fell between 2019 and 2022.
• That there are many restrictions placed on landlords' ability to use Section 21, and that the Section 8 mechanism is deeply flawed.

Read the full letter.