Starmer-backed Landlord law drives fourfold rise in section 21 instructions

Landlord instructions to serve section 21 notices have surged ahead of Friday’s start date for the Renters’ Rights Act in England. Solicitors say the last-minute rush has left tenants seeking advice as no-fault evictions move toward a ban.

Mustafa Sidki, a partner at Thackray Williams, said his firm had received lots of last-minute instructions and that the number of section 21 instructions he had received this year was up fourfold on last year. He said: “It’s been an absolutely manically busy day”.

Thackray Williams and Sidki

Sidki said landlords were trying to serve notices quickly because posting them would take too long. “I’m having to say to them if I post it, it’s not going to be served on time, so you can either hand-serve it yourself or pay a process server to do it, with a photograph of themselves affixing it to the door or serving it through a letterbox. So if a judge raises a question down the line, you have the evidence you did it by 1 May,” he said.

He added: “We’ve had lots of landlords trying to serve last-minute section 21 notices, but also lots of tenants who have been served, seeking advice because people are desperate. This is people’s homes, people’s lives.”

Citizens Advice in March

Citizens Advice said thousands of people facing a no-fault eviction had approached it for help in the last month. In March, it helped 2,335 people dealing with a no-fault eviction, more than 1,800 people with disrepair such as damp and mould, and more than 1,000 people with rent increases.

The Renters’ Rights Act bans no-fault evictions, limits rent increases to once a year and upfront rent demands to one month’s payment, and abolishes fixed-term tenancies. It also bans bidding wars for rental properties, gives councils new powers to investigate rogue landlords, and bars discrimination against prospective tenants on benefits or with children.

Renters’ Rights Act Friday

Sidki said the pressure was being driven by the change in law. “People are scared. That’s why they’re doing the section 21 notices now, because it’s perceived to be quicker and easier than what’s coming,” he said. He added: “A lot of people are saying there’s no housing for them anywhere else and they can’t get social housing”.

Keir Starmer said: “For too long, families have lived with the constant fear of eviction while yo”.