Councillor Emily Darlington, Labour Cabinet Member with responsibility for Housing, has written to the Government urging them to ban ‘heartless’ no-fault evictions – which have affected dozens of families in Milton Keynes over the past year.

Milton Keynes has seen a steady increase in no-fault evictions, formally known as Section 21 Notices, where landlords can suddenly evict tenants without reason.

Between April and December 2021, 66 local families were forced to leave their homes. One in three homelessness approaches to the Council also had a valid Section 21 notice during this time.

Labour’s Councillor Emily Darlington has written to Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Housing, urging him to fulfil the Government’s promise and ban no-fault evictions as soon as possible:

“It has now been two and a half years since the Conservative Government pledged to end no-fault evictions, but hundreds of families have been forced out of their homes since then.”

She added:

“Every Section 21 notice is a family that loses their home by no fault of their own. They have paid their rent and taken care of the property; they have made friends with their neighbours and sent their children to local schools. This disruption affects the stability of the family, the education of their children, and causes great stress to everyone involved. It also puts vulnerable, helpless families at risk of homelessness.”

She concluded:

“I have written to the Government highlighting the detrimental impact that these heartless and unethical notices have had on local families, and I would like to see them banned before more damage is done.”