Section 21 Evictions: A Legal Way to Displace Tenants Without Cause
Earlier this year, after losing her job as a horticulturist, Sarah Ladyman found solace in her one-bedroom apartment. However, her tranquility was disrupted when her landlord decided to increase her rent from £775 to £900. She contested this hike at a rent tribunal, only to receive a no-fault eviction notice in response.
No-fault eviction notices, legally known as Section 21 evictions, allow private landlords to remove tenants without any misconduct on the tenant’s part. Although the tribunal deemed the rent increase on Ladyman’s residence in Exeter excessive and reduced it to £825, Ladyman found herself nearly powerless to stop the eviction and now lives in constant fear of losing her home to bailiffs.
At 52, Ladyman is among the over 30,000 individuals in England who have been served with a no-fault eviction notice since last July, following Labour’s election victory under a platform that included a promise to immediately abolish such evictions. However, the proposed legislation to protect renters is still making its way through Parliament and will not be enacted in time to benefit tenants like Ladyman.
“The eviction notice was a total shock,” Ladyman explained. “Having just lost my job, my flat was my only stability. I’ve always paid my rent on time. It feels like I’m being unfairly targeted. Why would a landlord want to evict a reliable tenant over a mere £75?”
“Though I’m just renting, this place is my home. My whole life is here, including my involvement in the local community. Now, I’ve had to withdraw from social activities. You can’t focus on anything else,” she added.
Alice, a married mother of two who preferred to remain anonymous, suspects she was the victim of a “revenge eviction” after her family encountered multiple safety issues in their three-bedroom Leicestershire home, rented at £900 a month. The final straw came when she was preparing for her daughter’s birthday and the bed broke, revealing a hazardous hole in the floor. After she threatened to report the ongoing issues to the council, she was handed a Section 21 notice, plunging her into despair.
“We adored the house,” Alice said. “We invested a lot in it, especially in beautifying the garden. But major repairs were either neglected or poorly handled by the landlord’s husband and his friend.” The threat of being moved into temporary housing, which would have been devastating for her family, especially her 12-year-old autistic son, forced Alice to reluctantly accept a more expensive private rental.
Ryan Bramley and his partner, Sophie Hodgkiss, also received a no-fault eviction notice shortly after reporting leaky guttering at their rented three-bedroom terrace in Sheffield. “It was totally unexpected,” said Ryan, a 31-year-old university lecturer. Despite their efforts, supported by the renters’ union Acorn, to negotiate an extension, their requests were disregarded. Now, they find themselves living among packed boxes, bracing for eviction.
The eviction notice coincided with the final weeks of Sophie’s mental health nursing degree, exacerbating the stress for both. Ryan shared, “I deal with depression, anxiety, and OCD. This situation has significantly worsened my mental health, and my partner is struggling too. We’ve been here for four years, always paying rent on time, but it no longer feels like our home. While friends and family have kindly offered temporary shelter, the last thing we want is to resort to sofa surfing.”
Ryan expressed his frustration with the unfulfilled promises made by various governments regarding tenant protections. A ban on no-fault evictions was initially proposed by the Conservatives in 2019, but legislative efforts have repeatedly stalled. “There’s a notable conflict of interest, as many MPs and Lords are landlords themselves,” he noted. “This, I believe, is one reason for the legislative delays. The promises made by Labour and other parties have been unrealistic and unmet.”
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