Dad living in van to 'keep fighting' for no-fault eviction change

Phil Brady and his family have resorted to living in their van after two no-fault evictions

A father who is living in a van with his family says he is disappointed - but not surprised - a proposed ban on no-fault evictions has been delayed.

Phil Brady resorted to living in the vehicle after being involved in two no-fault evictions, known as section 21 eviction notices, in two years.

The government had announced plans to ban section 21s in May, but says plans are on hold as court reform is needed.

Mr Brady said he would keep fighting for the law change.

Under section 21, landlords can evict tenants who are not on fixed-term contracts without giving a reason. They are able to obtain a court order within two months of the notice being served.

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Mr Brady has been living with his wife and two children in a van in the Pewsey Vale in Wiltshire since May.

The family's first eviction notice came on a long-term rent where they had lived for 15 years, and the second came a year later in a different property when the owner wanted to put the house on the market.

"One day the landlord said 'I need my house back'.

"We've got two young children in local schools, we have local businesses and run a local charity and that was in the middle of the pandemic so finding somewhere else to live was almost impossible.

"Then right at the end of the notice we did find somewhere but we were served with another eviction notice and that made it very difficult because there is a housing emergency," Mr Brady told BBC Radio Wiltshire.

'Keep fighting'

The government said this week a ban on no-fault evictions in England will be delayed indefinitely as it cannot come into force until the court system is reformed.

There is also a concern the ban might see a significant rise in landlords applying to remove tenants for reasons such as rent arrears or anti-social behaviour, potentially overwhelming the courts.

"It sounds like these reforms will never happen," Mr Brady said.

"I'm not surprised. I didn't ever think it was going to go through but I think we should keep fighting because you have working families like us who are at risk of going through it and it's going to get worse if this ban doesn't go through," he added.

Meera Chindooroy from the National Residential Landlords Association said there was a big gap in supply and demand for homes and section 21 notices were important to landlords.

"It is essential that landlords have confidence they can regain possession of their property when they have legitimate reasons to do so.

"The fact there are not enough homes for people to rent has focussed minds and the government has acknowledged there needs to be confidence from landlords about the changes to ensure they stay in the sector," she added.