Hundreds of tenants across England received no-fault eviction notices in the final hours before the practice was banned by the Renters’ Rights Act, with some being served their papers just ten hours before the law took effect on 1 May 2026.
Carl Kansinde Middleton, 27, was at home in Brighton on the afternoon of 30 April when his landlord emailed, texted and posted a Section 21 notice – a triple delivery that made it impossible to miss. “As we were getting closer, I really thought I was safe. It just never occurred to me that it would just come right on the last day – I truly felt blindsided,” he said. Mr Middleton, who lost his job in November and has no family support, said the eviction had left him unable to find anywhere affordable in the city. “I was just about treading water but this has swept me under. I haven’t found a place yet. Honestly I don’t know what I’m going to do.” He had paid the first year of his rent upfront when he moved into the studio flat two and a half years ago and had always enjoyed a good relationship with his landlord.
Three days before the ban came into force, a whole building of tenants in Moseley, south Birmingham, received Section 21 notices after an individual landlord sold the property to a development company linked to a provider of supported and temporary accommodation for homeless people. The 12 tenants – a mix of couples and individuals, including a disabled person with a daily carer – said they were stunned. “We were all devastated. Everyone was in tears,” said Sharonjit Sutton, a self-employed graphic designer who lives in the building. “Everyone was just in shock and couldn’t believe it was happening. We still can’t believe it. None of us have started packing because we can’t imagine leaving.” Jess Thiari, 41, who has lived there for seven years with her dog Pip and has been signed off work after a pulmonary embolism, described the eviction as “like a blow to the stomach”. She added: “It was just really difficult because if it was in a few more days this wouldn’t have happened. People have lived here for 10, 20 years and we’re good tenants, nobody is behind on rent. They just did it because they could.” The tenants said they suspected the new laws had driven smaller landlords to sell up.
In Barnet, north London, Izzi, 68 – who asked for her surname to be withheld – received her Section 21 notice on 27 April, just days after being diagnosed with a benign brain tumour that had begun to cause health problems. Having rented the same property for 22 years, she said she felt “ashamed” and feared homelessness. “At my age that feels like a death sentence,” she said. Finding a new home has proved almost impossible because housing benefit has been frozen and, given her age, she needs a ground-floor property. “I’m looking at not being able to afford most of the same or similar accommodation. And because I’m 68, I really don’t want to move again. I can’t face moving twice, especially if I end up in some way incapacitated,” she said. The council, she added, had very few single-occupancy homes available.
In Otley, Leeds, Sara, 31 – a self-employed hairdresser and single parent of two children with diagnosed autism and ADHD, aged eight and three – was served a Section 21 notice in February with no warning, after 13 years in her home. “Honestly, it’s turned our lives upside down,” she said. She said the uncertainty was already affecting her children’s wellbeing and behaviour, as they rely on routine and familiarity. Despite an immaculate rental record, she has been unable to find anywhere new and the council told her it would not help until she was actually homeless – meaning she must wait for bailiffs to remove her. “I’ve literally got to wait until the bailiffs come to the property to remove me, otherwise they say I’m making myself homeless. That’s terrifying. It feels like I’m being forced to wait for everything to fall apart before anyone will help,” she said. She now faces the prospect of temporary accommodation far from her children’s schools and support networks.
Solicitors reported being inundated with requests to serve last-minute Section 21 notices before 1 May, with some having to hand-deliver papers because there was no time to post them. The surge was widely anticipated among legal professionals.
Broader impact: statistics and the housing benefit freeze
The scale of the problem is laid bare by official data. Between July 2024 and June 2025, 11,400 households in England were removed from their homes by bailiffs as a result of Section 21 evictions – an 8% rise on the previous year. Over 30,000 no-fault eviction notices were issued during the same period. In 2025, an estimated 11,586 Section 21 evictions occurred, a 1.7% increase on the year before. Between October and December 2025 alone, 4,960 households were threatened with homelessness as a direct consequence of a Section 21 notice. Meanwhile, 28,112 Section 21 possession claims were brought to county courts in England in 2025 – the lowest level since 2022, but still representing thousands of families facing removal.
The financial pressure on tenants has been compounded by the freeze on Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. Intended to cover at least the cheapest 30% of rental homes in an area, LHA rates have failed to keep pace with rising rents. By November 2025, only 44% of private renters on housing benefit had their rent fully covered, down from 52% in May 2024. As a result, more than 160,000 additional claimants now face rent shortfalls that can run into hundreds or even thousands of pounds a year. Rents had grown by approximately 19% by September 2023, and by that point only 5% of privately rented homes were affordable to people on housing benefit. The average loss for over a million households in receipt of housing benefit was nearly £1,500 a year. The freeze has pushed more people into financial strain, debt and homelessness, with many forced into unsafe temporary accommodation or onto the streets.
Landlords have voiced concerns about the new regime. Some argue that Section 21 provided necessary flexibility, particularly when circumstances change or relationships with tenants break down. The abolition means landlords must now rely on Section 8 notices, which require specific, evidence-based grounds for possession – such as rent arrears, anti-social behaviour, property damage, or the landlord or a close family member intending to occupy or sell the property. Notice periods for selling or personal occupation will be at least four months. The new law also allows rent increases only once a year, with tenants able to challenge unreasonable rises at a tribunal, and prohibits discrimination against tenants with children or in receipt of benefits. Making it easier for tenants to keep pets and the introduction of a landlord ombudsman are further provisions. Some smaller landlords say the changes have prompted them to sell up, a trend evident in the Moseley case.
Government response
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “Banning no-fault evictions is the biggest change to renting in a generation and will free families from the misery it has created. We brought in this ban as swiftly as possible while giving the sector enough time to prepare for these seismic changes.”
The Renters’ Rights Act, which came into force on 1 May 2026, represents the most significant reform to the private rented sector in England in over three decades. From that date, all assured shorthold tenancies automatically converted to assured periodic tenancies with no fixed end date. Landlords can still pursue court proceedings based on a Section 21 notice served before 1 May, but only until 31 July 2026, provided the notice remains within its six-month validity period. Tenants facing eviction are advised to seek help from Shelter, which offers legal information and advice on eviction processes, and Citizens Advice. Local councils have a legal duty to assess anyone at risk of homelessness within 56 days and may offer support. Free legal advice is also available through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, and the P3 Charity provides practical support for those facing homelessness or eviction.
Tenants like Sara, who may have to wait until bailiffs arrive before receiving any help from her council, said the situation was unbearable: “The thought of potentially being placed in a hostel, miles away from everything my children depend on, is unbearable.” Sharonjit Sutton, who attended a flat viewing in Birmingham after being evicted, said she encountered another applicant who had also just received a Section 21 notice. “It’s going to be very competitive,” she said. “We have been advised to resist the eviction notice for as long as possible, forcing the issue into court and giving us more time to find somewhere else. But the emotional toll of that will be quite hard to take.”
