Families and people have been turfed out their homes without reason as the number of rental repossessions reaches record levels in Bolton.

Almost 100 rental properties have been repossessed without an explicit reason given in Bolton since the Government pledged to ban no-fault evictions in 2019, new figures show.

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show 98 repossessions were made through 'accelerated possession orders' in Bolton since the beginning of April 2019.

Of them, 54 were completed in the year to June – up from 16 in the year before.

An accelerated possession order means the landlord served a Section 21 eviction and the tenant must vacate the property within two months.

The landlord does not have to provide a reason.

A spokesperson for Bolton Council said: “County Courts are not required to notify individual local authorities of possession actions.

“Possession actions for Bolton now take place in Manchester and are not listed by location.

“As such it is very difficult for the council to proactively intervene unless a tenant presents for assistance in such cases.

“Where a tenant presents for assistance, the council will be able to check validity of any notice and offer intervention where appropriate to deal with any underlying issues relating to the possession action.

“In many cases, where the council has an opportunity to intervene, the possession can be avoided or delayed to prevent homelessness.”

Andrew Cardwell, Managing Director of Cardwells Estate Agents based in Bolton and Bury, said: “The fact that landlords are using the Section 21 route to end Assured Shorthold Tenancies is to be expected during this period as the new rules have not yet come into force.  

“There may be any number of motivations behind a landlord’s decision to use a Section 21, but they do not need to be disclosed.  

“In many cases it may well be that they are moving back into the property or that they are looking to sell the property, both of which would be suitable reasons under the new system as well.  

“One of the reasons for the increased percentage in the figures could be because there were no court hearings during and post Covid-19 restrictions, so there may well have been a backlog in the courts and of course landlords may have delayed their plans, not wishing to displace people during the pandemic.  

“In my experience the majority of tenancies come to an end at the request of the tenant, who may wish to move on for any number of reasons.  

“Often professional landlords like to have their properties occupied for the long term and prefer not to look for new tenants frequently.”

Billa Ahmed, Co-Founder of Homeless Aid UK based in Bolton said: “It is absolutely disgusting what is going on, we know about the Section 21s as so many people visit us, and we get lots of calls off people who have been served Section 21s.

“They obviously want to accelerate and get people out because there are a few of them that know they can get more rent out of people, so this is probably one of the reasons and there are other reasons.

“I know some of the landlord’s mortgage rates have gone up so we understand that they have to put rent up, but tenants can only get so much from the benefits scheme.

"We get so many people that ring us each week complaining they have just been served a Section 21, it is such a shame and there is not going to be enough property out there because once they get served a Section 21, especially in Bolton, there are not many empty properties for them to apply for.

“So where are these people going to end up? They are going to end up homeless, they are going to put more strain on the council with temporary accommodation out there as well.

“It is a snowball effect and I feel it is going to get a lot worse than it already is.”

The Government published the Renters Reform Bill in May, but it is yet to pass through Parliament, and Shelter has urged the Conservatives to prioritise the Bill and protect renters across the country.

Shelter said hundreds of families "risk being thrown into homelessness every day" while the practice remains legal.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said landlords can "too easily use and abuse the current system", hiking up rents and issuing a Section 21 eviction notice if the tenant cannot pay.

Ms Neate said: "With private rents reaching record highs and no-fault evictions continuing to rise, hundreds of families risk being thrown into homelessness every day.

"We speak to renters all the time who feel like they have zero control over their own lives because the threat of eviction is constantly hanging over them.

"The Renters Reform Bill will make renting more secure, and for those who live in fear of the bailiffs knocking at their door, these changes can’t come soon enough.

"The moment Parliament resumes, the Government must get rid of 'no-fault' evictions, which have made the prospect of a stable home little more than a fantasy for England’s 11 million private renters."

These 'no-fault' evictions have accounted for 22,440 repossessions across England and Wales since April 2019, when the Government pledged to ban them in its election manifesto.

Meanwhile, there were 47 per cent more Section 21 notices served in the three months to June than in the same period last year.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said its Renters Reform Bill "will protect renters by abolishing section-21 ‘no-fault’ evictions".

"We are committed to creating a private rented sector that is fit for the 21st century, which works for responsible landlords while giving tenants greater security in their homes," a spokesperson added.

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