Section 21 no-fault evictions have increased by 65% in recent months as landlords accelerate proceedings ahead of the 1 May deadline when the practice will be prohibited, according to data from renters’ union Acorn.
The organisation reported that no-fault evictions rose from one in five of member reports in October to nearly one in three by January. The surge comes as landlords seek to initiate proceedings under existing legislation before new tenant protections take effect.
Legal professionals report caseload increase
Housing lawyers have confirmed a corresponding rise in eviction-related cases. Hugh Wilkinson, Head of Housing at Central England Law Centre, told The Guardian that he is seeing more long-term tenants served notice unexpectedly.
“It can be quite upsetting for people. To think that they’ve been there for a long time and that the length of time doesn’t make any difference. The court won’t take into account the fairness of it,” Wilkinson said.
Housing charity Shelter described the situation as “especially outrageous that some landlords are exploiting this thin window of time to serve no-fault evictions.”
Industry perspective on tenant assessment
Meera Chindooroy, Deputy Director for Campaigns, Public Affairs and Policy at the National Residential Landlords Association, offered a different perspective: “Landlords will be looking at their current tenants and considering whether these are tenancies that they are happy to continue with after May.”
The trend occurs against a backdrop of broader changes in the rental sector, where buy-to-let landlord exits remain modest despite pressures from regulatory changes and market conditions.
Any no-fault eviction proceedings initiated before the 1 May deadline under existing rules will be permitted to proceed even after the new legislation comes into force, creating an incentive for landlords to act before the cut-off date.
The increase in Section 21 notices represents a significant acceleration in the final months before the ban takes effect, with implications for thousands of tenants across England and Wales. The data suggests landlords are utilising the remaining window to restructure their portfolios ahead of the regulatory changes that will fundamentally alter the lettings sector landscape.
