‘Everyone was in tears’: the tenants given eviction notices just before ban in England | Housing

IIt was 2pm on April 30 when Carl Kansunu Middleton received a “no fault” eviction from his Brighton landlord – just 10 hours before section 21 notices were officially banned under the Tenants’ Rights Act.

“As I got closer I thought I was really safe“ he said. “I never thought that everything would happen on the last day; I really felt caught off guard.

“I lost my job in November and it’s been a financial struggle for me because I don’t have a support system. I was just about treading water but that dragged me out. I haven’t found a place yet. I honestly don’t know what to do.”

Middleton, 27, is one of hundreds of people across England who received no-fault evictions weeks, days and even hours before the practice was banned under legislation designed to protect tenants’ rights.

Advocates reported being inundated with last-minute requests to serve eviction notices before May 1 and having to hand-deliver them to tenants when there wasn’t enough time to mail them.

Middleton said his notification came via email, text message and postal mail, and it was impossible to miss. He said he has always had a good relationship with his landlord, and when he moved into the studio apartment two and a half years ago, he paid the first year of rent in advance.

“If there was anything more I could have done to stop this, I don’t know what it was,” he said. “I have no idea where to live; everything of similar size in this area is now out of my price range.

“The Tenant Bill of Rights was nearly perfect but needed to be implemented when it became law in October; these evictions are a very unfortunate but foreseen outcome.”

Three days earlier, section 21 eviction notices had been issued to an entire building of tenants in Moseley, south Birmingham, after the property was sold to a new owner who claimed they needed to leave for renovations.

The 12 tenants, a variety of couples and individuals, including a disabled person with a daily caregiver, said the eviction notices came out of the blue and left them stunned.

“We were all devastated. Everyone was in tears,” said Sharonjit Sutton, a freelance graphic designer who lives in the building. “Everyone was in shock and couldn’t believe it was happening. We still can’t believe it. None of us started packing because we couldn’t imagine leaving.”

Jess Thiari, 41, has lived in the building with her dog Pip for seven years and was recently laid off due to a pulmonary embolism. He said the eviction was “like a blow to the gut.”

“It was really hard because if it had taken a few more days this wouldn’t have happened,he said. “People have lived here for 10, 20 years and we’re good tenants, no one is behind on rent. They just did it because they could.”

The building was sold by an individual landlord to a property development company linked to a provider of supported and temporary accommodation for the homeless. Tenants said they were concerned the new laws were creating fear among small landlords, pushing them to sell.

All tenants are now looking for other properties in the same area and questioning whether there are enough to go around. “We went to a straight viewing and someone else who was subject to an episode 21 eviction was also watching at the same time. It’s going to be pretty competitive,” Sutton said.

Like many tenants, they were advised to resist the eviction notice for as long as possible, taking the matter to court and giving them more time to find somewhere else. “But the emotional cost of this is going to be very difficult to bear,” Sutton said.

Izzi, 68, of Barnet, north London, who asked that his surname not be published, said his section 21 eviction notice on April 27 came after he was diagnosed with a benign brain tumour, which had recently begun to cause health problems.

“I was horrified as I had been renting the same place for 22 years. When the income came in I was surprised and shocked,” he said. “I think homelessness and at my age it feels like a death sentence to me.”

He said that he was looking for a new house, but found most places unsuitable due to the freezing of housing aid, and that he wanted a place on the ground floor due to his age.

“I can’t afford much of the same or similar accommodation. And since I’m 68, I really don’t want to move again. I can’t afford to move a second time, especially if I become incapacitated in some way,” he said. “There are very few single-occupancy homes in the municipality, so I think I can wait a long time for this.”

Sara*, 31, a freelance hairdresser from Otley in Leeds, has lived at home for 13 years. In February, her landlord received her section 21 notice without giving her any warning.

“It honestly turned our lives upside down,” he said. She is a single parent of two children aged eight and three diagnosed with autism and ADHD, and said the impact was “huge”.

“My kids rely on routine and familiarity to feel safe, and this has shaken that up,” she said. “Uncertainty is already affecting their well-being and behavior.”

Despite a “perfect” rental record, finding new accommodation proved impossible and she was told the council would not help until she and her children were actually homeless. “I literally have to wait until the bailiffs come to the property to pick me up, otherwise they say I’ll make myself homeless. It’s terrible. It feels like I’m having to wait for everything to fall apart before anyone can help,” she said.

Sara may have to move to temporary accommodation, away from her children’s schools and support networks. “The thought of being placed in a hostel miles away from everything my children need is unbearable,” she said.

A Department for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “Banning no-fault evictions is the biggest change to renting in a generation and will save families from the misery it creates. We have introduced this ban as quickly as possible while giving the sector sufficient time to prepare for these shocking changes.”

* The name has been changed.