DOZENS of households became homeless in Bromsgrove last autumn, new figures show.

Data from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities shows 27 households in Bromsgrove were assessed to be homeless between October and December last year.

This was an increase from the 11 households that were found to be homeless over the same period in 2020.

Of those already understood to be homeless, 30 found accommodation last autumn.

Across England, 33,800 households became homeless in the last three months of 2021 – down from 35,030 over the same period a year before.

Housing charities have blamed a rise in "no-fault" evictions for increasing homelessness in England.

Despite a recent pledge from the government to scrap them, landlords are still able to evict tenants through a section 21 notice - which can provide tenants with as little as eight weeks’ notice to leave – sometimes without reason – once the fixed term in their tenancy agreement expires.

Across England, no-fault evictions are up 37 per cent compared to 2019, before the pandemic.

Around 5,260 households were threatened with homelessness as a result of them last autumn – though none were in Bromsgrove.

Shelter, a charity working to end homelessness, has described no-fault evictions as “blunt, brutal and indiscriminate.”

Chief executive, Polly Neate, said: “If landlords follow the process, as it stands, they can turf people out of their homes for no reason– and tenants are powerless to do anything about it.

"These are real people who’ve been chewed up and spat out by our broken private renting system, and now face an uphill battle to find somewhere to call home again."

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said it was bringing forward reforms to help renters, including ending no-fault evictions.