Less than 2 per cent of illegal evictions lead to prosecution of landlord, figures indicate

Campaigners are calling on police commissioners to take action against criminal landlords as figures reveal alarmingly low rate of prosecutions, Ben Chapman writes

Renters had been protected by a stronger eviction ban (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Campaigners have called for a crackdown on illegal evictions after analysis suggested that less than 2 per cent of cases result in prosecution of a landlord.

Generation Rent found that the number of people who reported being made homeless because of an illegal eviction jumped 28 per cent from 810 in 2018-19 to 1,040 the following year. A further 480 cases were reported between April and September 2020.

The figures likely to significantly underestimate the level of illegal evictions taking place because they only count people who report that they have been made homeless and are owed a duty by their local authority to find them new housing.