Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, where tenants can be evicted without giving a reason, are widely regarded as a key driver of homelessness, and were banned from May 2026.
But Romesha said “Section 21 is not the problem”, adding: “My issue is the government allowing landlords to skyrocket rental prices, which are not in line with salaries.
“It doesn’t add up.”
The Labour government pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the course of this Parliament, but is currently not on course to meet that target.
“It is shameful that a record number of children are growing up without a home because decades of political failure have choked off the supply of genuinely affordable social homes,” said Sarah Elliot, chief executive of housing charity Shelter.
“Right now, too many children are spending their childhoods in temporary accommodation that is barely fit for a one-night stay, let alone years on end.
“Whole families are crammed into B&Bs, hostels and tiny bedsits that are freezing and damp in the winter and boiling in the summer.”
In his incoming speech as prime minister, Burnham suggested the UK was in the grip of a “housing crisis” and that he wanted to deliver “the biggest council house-building programme since the post-war period”.
Shelter said it wanted him to use October’s Budget to “kickstart the council house revolution he promised” by removing financial barriers that prevent councils from building more social rent homes.
The total number of households in B&B accommodation fell by almost a quarter in the year to March, with the number of households containing children living in B&Bs falling by half.
About 1,000 households with children had been in B&B accommodation for more than the six-week limit, although this represented a fall on a year earlier.
“While it’s welcome that more households are being helped into a home and fewer families are living in bed and breakfast accommodation, these figures show there is still a long way to go, with record numbers stuck in temporary accommodation,” Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said.
The government has also pledged an additional £340m to end rough sleeping.
