NEARLY 100,000 Section 21 evictions have been heard in courts across England since the government promised to abolish the practice, official data shows.

The number of repossession claims brought against private renters following a “no-fault” eviction was 7,962 last quarter, according to new Ministry of Justice data.

It brings the total number since 2019 — when the government pledged to abolish Section 21 — to 96,927.

Renters Reform Coalition campaign manager Tom Darling said the latest figures are “a bleak illustration of the scale of England’s renting crisis.”

He said: “Out-of-control evictions and soaring rents are creating unprecedented levels of homelessness and social misery.

“Meanwhile… [the Renters (Reform) Bill], which could improve private renting, has been massively watered down after the government caved in to landlord interests.

“The House of Lords offers a last opportunity to fix the Bill and address our broken renting system.”

The Bill has returned to peers for its second reading.

Campaigners in London today protested outside the capital offices of Grainger, Britain’s biggest landlord — one of those who lobbied for concessions in the Bill — over “its role in forcing up rents across the city.”

The London Renters Union (LRU) said the company’s private rental properties are “well out of reach for local residents.”

Grainger owns and manages more than 10,000 properties across the country and received nearly £100 million in rent last year.

LRU member and NHS worker Asif, who only wished to give his first name, said he could no longer find an affordable flat in the area he grew up in, near the Olympic Park, due to years of gentrification.

He said: “So many people need a council house and it feels like a slap in the face to watch these luxury flats go up which nobody in my community can afford.”

A LRU spokesperson said: “Extortionate private developments have a knock-on effect, driving up rents across communities that have already been ravaged by gentrification.

“It’s time for the government to stop shoring up the profits of property giants and introduce rent control that brings down the cost of renting for everyone.”

A government spokesperson said it was increasingly supporting renters receiving benefits with housing costs and that the Bill would abolish Section 21 evictions if it becomes law.

A Grainger statement said that 70 per cent of its properties are affordable to those earning “average wages” and that the solution to problems in housing is increasing supply.