With concerns surrounding the end of Section 21 notices at an all-time high, many landlords have been moving or selling up, as part of an albeit unintended and potentially fear-driven response to the upcoming legislation change. With the likelihood of these actions leading to reduced stock and rent increases (having the adverse effect of negatively impacting tenants at large), it begs the question… was it even worth it in the first place? Maybe not, if you take into consideration the latest edition of the English Housing Survey, analysed by Propertymark, highlighting how relatively rarely Section 21 has even been used…

Private renters: The majority move by choice

424,000 households (63%) in 2022-2023 stated they actively chose to end their tenancy. The reasons for this were, for the most part, job-related. Other reasons cited were:

  • Needing a bigger property
  • Wanting to live in a better area

The least common reason for moving was eviction. Only 9% fell into this category. Interestingly, the causes of eviction were, in most cases, simply due to the landlord wishing to sell or needing/wanting to move back into the property themselves. Out of this small percentage, just over half were asked to leave informally.

  • 37% were issued a Section 21 notice
  • 2% were issued a Section 8 notice

Security of tenure and outlook on current housing situation

Most private renters (78%) reported feeling safe from eviction, with 68% having deemed their housing situation secure enough for them to feel confident in relation to making long-term life decisions. Three-quarters felt at home in their rental properties, experiencing also, for the most part, a sense of community in the areas in which they lived.

Read the security of tenure fact sheet

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