Police to evict officers and families from homes

Police officers and their families are to be evicted from subsidised housing owned by the police and crime commissioner's office to make way for new recruits.

Section 21 "no-fault" eviction notices have been given to Surrey Police officers across the county, with the force wanting to make properties "available for employees who are early in their service and meet our eligibility criteria".

A force spokesperson said it had made the decision ahead of the incoming Renters' Rights Act, which bans no-fault evictions, but acknowledged "the potential impact that the decision may have".

One woman, who lives in the housing, said: "When we got the letter, our world came crashing down around our ears."

She added: "The reality is we can't afford to swap like-for-like for what is on the private rental market.

"I'm trying to stay positive, but there's nothing to be positive about at the moment."

The Surrey police and crime commissioner's (PCC) office owns a number of properties, which it then rents out to officers at subsidised rates in order to help "ensure that the high cost of accommodation in our area is not a barrier to those wishing to join us".

Section 21 notices were served by the PCC office through a property management company.

PCC Lisa Townsend said the "very tough decision" was motivated by a desire to do right by both the "Surrey taxpayer" and the "wider workforce at Surrey Police".

"I appreciate the impact this will have on those current tenants and we have given them the longest notice period we were legally able to," she said.

Officers have been told they must leave the properties by 1 May - the same day that the Renters' Rights Act comes into force.

The act is designed to give greater protections to tenants, including banning no-fault evictions and ending the use of fixed-term tenancies.

Writing to Townsend, Dorking MP Chris Coghlan said that attempting to pre-empt the act was "not in the spirit of the legislation".

He asked the PCC to review the cases and the policy behind it "as a matter of urgency".

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: "We're banning Section 21 through our Renters' Rights Act so we can protect tenants and give them housing security, and have ensured police forces have the flexibility they need to operate effectively."

They added that the act would allow landlords to evict a tenant if their tenancy was part of an employment that had ended.

The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said she and her husband who works in the force had lived in the home for several years.

She added they had been told Surrey Police would be changing its eligibility criteria to mean only officers who earn less than £40,000 per year and have served for less than three years could live in the properties.

A Surrey Police spokesperson said: "The passing of the Renters Rights Act has meant that action around the police estate had to be taken now, to ensure our subsidised housing can be utilised by those meeting our criteria.

"While the Act brings many benefits to private tenants, in circumstances such as ours, it limits how tenanted properties are managed within the police estate.

"We do acknowledge the potential impact that the decision may have on those affected, and they will have access to support through the force as required."

The spokesperson said that, in December 2024, the PCC and Surrey Police advised all tenants they could be required to "give up possession of the property in the future for several reasons, including earnings exceeding the eligibility criteria".

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