DOZENS of rental properties have been repossessed without an explicit reason given in Wyre Forest since the Government pledged to ban no-fault evictions in 2019, new figures show.

Shelter said hundreds of families "risk being thrown into homelessness every day" while the practice remains legal.

The Government published the Renters Reform Bill in May, but it is yet to pass through Parliament.

The latest Ministry of Justice figures show 24 repossessions were made through 'accelerated possession orders' in Wyre Forest since the beginning of April 2019.

Of them, six were completed in the year to June – down from 11 in the year before.

An accelerated possession order means the landlord served a Section 21 eviction and the tenant must vacate the property within two months. The landlord does not have to provide a reason.

These 'no-fault' evictions have accounted for 22,440 repossessions across England and Wales since April 2019, when the Government pledged to ban them in its election manifesto.

Meanwhile, there were 47% more Section 21 notices served in the three months to June than in the same period last year.

Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said landlords can "too easily use and abuse the current system", hiking up rents and issuing a Section 21 eviction notice if the tenant cannot pay.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said its Renters Reform Bill "will protect renters by abolishing section-21 ‘no-fault’ evictions".