Evicted for No Reason Panorama

Tonight on Panorama:

We're with the families

who've been ordered out

of their homes.

I can't sleep.

Cried a million tears tonight.

The tenants evicted,

but not told why.

What is it like for your mum moving

all the time?

I think it is really

hard and depressing for her. There

were more than 24,000 of these

no-fault evictions last year. Move,

move. I can't just keep uprooting my

family.

The landlords say they are

the ones getting a bad deal.

Very

angry. The tenants have all sorts of

laws protecting them, what about the

landlord?

Oh my god, I do not know

how to open this.

Britain needs

private landlords, but the system is

forcing thousands into homelessness.

Oh my God. There is blood, urine

stains everywhere.

Should tenants be

evicted when they have not done

anything wrong?

I'm sorry. Thanks.

This is what the

housing crisis is doing to families.

The McGlashans are being evicted.

Stick it in a bag and let your dad

put it back together.

They have

fallen out with their landlord. In

the UK, that can cost you your home.

The bailiffs are due to turn up

tomorrow at 11am. At which point we

will hopefully be gone.

will hopefully be gone.

This is a

no-fault eviction, or section 20

one. Landlords do not have to give

you a reason if they want you out.

Courts ordered more than 24,000

evictions like this last year. That

is 67 everyday.

It is very common, a

lot of people are being evicted.

There is nothing you can really do

about it. If the eviction notice is

served correctly you cannot

challenge it. We have to take it and

find somewhere else to go to.

Laura

lives with her husband, who does not

want to be on television, five kids

and retired mum. Her landlord wants

to put the rent up by more than £400

a month. Laura is a full-time

account manager, but it is still

more than she can afford. So she is

out.

For a landlord to issue an

eviction on a rundown property, with

windows hanging off the ledge... You

know, it is not right, it should not

be allowed to happen.

But it can happen because tenants in

the UK have fewer rights than almost

anywhere in Europe. Most are on the

short-term contracts. When they are

ending, they can be evicted with

just two months notice, though it

can often take longer to get tenants

out.

The eviction for section 21

would not be able to go ahead until

October.

Why are the tenants not

leaving the property?

The number of

private landlords has rocketed to an

estimated 1.75 million.

Nicola, she

wants to hold off the Bailiff.

So

there are specialist firms that help

landlords get tenants out.

This one

removes hundreds per year. You have

plenty of ways to evict, it is

making sure you choose the right

one.

We do this day in day out to

help landlords who are distressed

like yourself.

Take care. But the

housing shortage means Britain now

depends on the private rented

sector. Around 13 million people

rent from private landlords.

rent from private landlords.

98% of

tenants go through swimmingly and

most landlords will not have to

evict a tenant in a lifetime of

being a landlord but when it happens

it can be destroyed and

it can be destroyed and --

distressing.

Most UK landlords only

owned one or two properties, which

means they cannot afford for things

to go wrong for long. No-fault

section 21 evictions are the easiest

way for private landlords to get

their properties back.

I think it is

crucial, a section 21 notice means

landlords and tenants can draw a

tendency to an end and nobody is at

fault and everybody knows where they

stand.

You are not worried it is too

much in favour of the landlord?

The

rules currently are mostly in favour

of the tenant.

If you have at least

two months arrears we will be a --

able to serve a section eight.

It

looks like a landlord can bid out a

tenant when they feel like.

It must

be tough for a tenant, if they think

they have been a good tenant, to

leave the property, but the reasons

why a landlord will use a section 21

will be the relationship has broken

down, the tenant is not looking

after the property, paying rent on

time. Or that personal circumstances

have happened. It can be brutal and

I feel for tenants that has happened

to.

to.

But section 21 can be abused.

Some landlords evict tenants just

for complaining about the property.

The housing charity Shelter claims

thousands are affected by revenge

evictions every year.

Julie, who is a beautician,

complained and now she is out. She

has lived in this house in rural

Worcestershire for four years and

has always paid her rent. She

complained repeatedly about problems

like a leaking shower.

I sent a

message to my sons and said we are

homeless. They are like, you are

joking. They said, what have you

done? I said I feel like I have done

nothing other than complain about

this leak.

this leak.

Julie was offered a new

lease, but she did not sign it.

After three months, the landlord

issued an eviction notice.

I have

worked hard and spent almost £40,000

to live here. I have nothing for it.

Nothing, I am homeless. £40,000.

That is like a quarter of the

mortgage I have paid off on this

house. It just means nothing.

house. It just means nothing.

Her

landlord says he carried out

repairs, but was fed up with Julie's

trivial complaints.

Have you got to

appoint a solicitor? I have not got

a solicitor. You cannot fight it.

It

is not a fighting thing. She thinks

she has found a place but it might

not be ready by the time she is

kicked out.

kicked out.

It gives you a heavy

heart. I keep being

heart. I keep being told I don't

have to get out of here, but if I

stay here, they will start court

proceedings, sought the bailiffs out

and all the other scary stuff they

are going to do. And I have done

nothing wrong.

But the private rental market can be

precarious for landlords also. Bad

tenants can quickly cost you

thousands.

thousands. Section 21 evictions can

feel like a lifeline.

Show me where

your places. It is the bottom left

flat. What kind of places it? It is

a two bedroom ground floor flat.

How

much do you rent it for? £950 per

month. Frances Carpenter works as a

hotel cleaner and also rents out two

properties. But she is not happy

with the tenant in this one. He has

installed satellite television and

changed utility meters without

permission.

The rent was late,

several times, and then he decided

he could not pay all the rent, could

he pay half at the beginning of the

month and half at the end of the

month? That was the last straw. My

bills have to go out, I do not get

to pay bills into halves and go to

the supermarket and say I will pay

for this now and pay for the rest of

it next week. You pay for it all at

once.

Her tenants always paid the rent

eventually. He has a school-age

daughter and the eviction could

leave them homeless. You use a

section 21.

Are you being brutal

with him? I do not think so, he is

brutal by not asking permission to

do the things he has done. You do

not drill holes through walls and

put up cable clips and generally

treat the place as if it is some

kind of... It is his home? It is his

home, but it is my property. You are

emotional. I am very angry. Tenants

have all sorts of laws protecting

them, what about the landlord?

them, what about the landlord?

The

eviction has cost Frances more than

£1000 so far. She has had to borrow

money. If evictions are costly for

tenants also. Research suggests the

average cost of a move for a family

is about £1400. If you do not have

that money, you are in trouble. The

most common cause of homelessness is

being evicted by a private landlord.

Laura's family cannot afford London

rents. This is the new place. They

are officially homeless, so the

council has moved them to a B&B.

Can

you smell the urine? OK.

This is

your one. Laura's mum has moved with

them.

Oh my God.

them.

Oh my God.

There is blood,

urine stains everywhere. Disgusting.

I can't sleep there, I'm afraid.

That is even worse. That is why they

are turned over. It is like someone

has been killed on it.

They probably

have, judging by the smell.

have, judging by the smell. You

cannot put children on beds like

that.

I think we need to complain

because they are a bit of a health

hazard.

The B&B replaced the mattresses.

Four days later, the family are

settling in.

What planet do you live

on?

I lived on the white planet.

What is it called?

Is it the moon?

The kids are missing school because

it is now 1.5 hours away. What is it

like for your mum moving all the

time, do you think?

I think it is

really hard and depressing for her.

Why?

Because she has to move a lot

and when we get used to the house

and she has to move again...

That's

hard, isn't it? Even though Laura

works, the family relies on housing

benefit to meet high London rents.

Most landlords simply won't rent to

people on housing benefit.

The

eviction wasn't our fault. People

that may not have the means to pay

out large deposits or find an

alternative property, you are

completely at the landlord's swim.

-- the landlord's whim.

Rents are so

high in some parts of the country,

that people on average wages are

being priced out. There is little

social housing and private landlords

can choose the wealthiest tenants.

So, families who are evicted can end

up in places like this. It is an

industrial estate near Croydon.

industrial estate near Croydon. Home

to concrete plants, recycling

centres, lorries, and now families

living in a converted office block.

From where I'm sitting, believe me,

I am hearing heard... Her rationale

but sitting on this side of it, it

is an absolute nightmare. It is an

absolute nightmare.

Ava works for

the council but she's not here to

help the homeless. She has been

evicted twice under section 20 one.

She's homeless so the council has

housed her in the office block.

I

work with Croydon Council also but

the form... What is the point of

this online system?

Who is it? Richard from the BBC,

Ava. How are you? Pleased to meet

you. How's things?

OK.

This is your

place?

Come in, it is a bit of a

shuffle.

This is your hall?

Very

small hallway.

So, this was an

office block?

Yeah, this is my son's

bedroom.

And the roofs are very low,

aren't they?

Yeah, but we're not

that tall, so...

She lives here with

her son and shares a bed with her

grown-up daughter. Despite working

full-time, Ava could not afford

another rented home after her two

evictions. Life with no security,

what's that's like?

I've been

through it, and might only... Hope

of getting out of it is apparently

to get back into private rented

because there is no... Council 's

stock come I have to go private

rented but I know what that looks

like, I know what that feels like,

and I really, really, really don't

want to be there again. I don't want

somebody with that kind of power

over me.

Ava was a foster mum. She cared for

six kids and adopted two of them.

She's now had to give up fostering

because she doesn't have a proper

home.

I've never seen her so

scattered and just at a loss. It's

really upsetting, actually. You

know, she's always been quite

together, she's a foster carer so

you have to be quite legitimate and

just strong. It upsets me to see her

just not sure where the future is

going.

This is the fourth place that

I've had to bring my cattle since...

In 18 months. Now, that can't be

right. There is something that is

just a little bit wrong about that,

that move, move, move, I can't just

keep uprooting my family and just

going from place to place.

So, the system is not working for

thousands of landlords and tenants.

But there is part of the UK where

they think they've found a solution.

Scotland's renters now get tenancies

for life.

In you come. This is us in

here. Come through to the lounge.

Stewart Brown is looking for a new

flat to rent in Aberdeen.

You have

got your white goods here.

He is

moving in with his girlfriend.

Taking a video because my girlfriend

couldn't make it today.

The law

changed two months ago. If they move

in, the landlord won't be able to

kick them out without good reason.

If we do take it, it is a nice

thought that it could just be right,

it could work out well for us and we

could stay here for the foreseeable

future, make a home out of it. Fill

it with all our own belongings and

know that we are not going to be

taken out at short notice.

Good evening, everyone and thanks

for coming in.

Across town, there is

a meeting of landlords. These are

the biggest changes to the rental

sector in a generation.

Tenants

deserve protection from rogue

landlords and a place where they can

be happy and enjoy the property that

they are in for the full tenancy.

There are worries about red tape but

the new rules offer something for

landlords, too.

The change, I think

if they are behind three months,

they've got to go immediately.

No-fault evictions have gone here

but it is now much easier for

landlords to get bad tenants out.

When you look at the 18 ways you can

get tenants out, they work both

ways. If I want to put my family in

there, I can end the tendency to put

my relative in there. And also if

they don't pay the rent, you don't

have to go to court to get them out.

I think it drives out the rogue

landlords, certainly does, and

forces people to become

professional.

Of course, the housing

market varies across the UK. Labour

thinks no-fault evictions should

stop everywhere. The government

disagrees. It says it's increased

protection for tenants and will

reduce barriers that block landlords

offering longer tenancies.

offering longer tenancies. So,

what's happened to the people we

have followed?

have followed? Well, Julie, who

complained about her shower, is now

days away from eviction. She gets a

call about the place she was

supposed to move into. It's bad

news.

I can't sleep. I cried a

million tears tonight.

The house I was going for has fallen

through.

Her landlord has given her an extra

month but, after that, she has

nowhere to go. Section 21 has turned

her life upside down.

her life upside down.

Devastated. I

don't know where to run. I'd like to

go and crawl under a rock somewhere

and hide but I can't. Yeah. My life

and my security is in everybody

else's hands but is mine. They've

all got control of my life. And that

is not a very nice feeling.

is not a very nice feeling.

There

has, at last, been some good news

for Julie. Within the last week,

she's managed to find somewhere to

rent.

Frances, the landlord who works as a

cleaner, has now been trying to get

her tenant out the five months.

Tell

me what the update is.

OK, so we've

received a defence form in from the

court informing us that the tenant

wishes to stay longer in the

property. This isn't unusual for

section 21.

The tenants now asked

the court to delay the eviction

because he has nowhere to go.

The

maximum they can get is about 42

days which is about six weeks.

He

wants to stay because I am his third

landlord, he has already been

evicted twice beforehand.

Unfortunately, if the judge upholds

his defence, it means we now have to

move on to a separate lawyer, and

that is going to cost more time and

more money. Probably a lot more

money. It's worrying, it's

infuriating and extremely stressful.

In London, it's almost four weeks

since Laura and her family were

evicted. After a week in a bed and

breakfast, the council found them

another temporary home to rent.

Hello, Laura, nice to see you again.

Come in.

How are you? This is the

new place, then?

new place, then? All right, guys?

How are you doing?

We are just being

nice to each other.

Let's all be

nice to each other. For Amira and

older brother Aiden, moving home

means moving school again.

Tomorrow's our last day.

What do you

think, Aiden, about the new school.

Upsetting because I can't see my

friends.

Is it sad you can't see

them again?

Yeah, but I'll be able

to make new friends.

I think you'll

make lots of new friends. The

eviction and moving meant Laura

missed a lot of work. She lost her

office job. And you've got the space

now? The family don't have their

furniture. They didn't get it out in

time when they were evicted and now

the landlord is ignoring their calls

so the children are sleeping on the

floor.

As a parent, it's really hard

to give your kids a kiss good night

and send them off to the floor.

It's, you know, heartbreaking

sometimes.

What do you think now

when you think of section 21?

section 21, I don't think it has any

value. I'd like to see a valid

reason given for the eviction that

has to stand up in court.

This cot is the only piece of

furniture in the house. The two

young ones have to share.

I just

want to sleep with Poosey because he

loves me.

As a nation, we depend on private

landlords. They say they need

no-fault evictions. But, for

millions of tenants, that means no

security, and no place they can

really call home.