I’m losing my home through a no-fault eviction | Letter

Letter: One reader says the government has not done enough to protect tenants from section 21 notices despite years of assurances

Regarding your article on landlords issuing section 21 notices ahead of the upcoming ban on them (24 March), I am currently going through exactly this process. I am being forced out of my home through no fault of my own, after years of paying rent and doing everything expected of a “good” tenant. It turns out that being responsible is not protection, it is merely compliance before eviction.

We have been told for years that no-fault evictions would be abolished. And yet here we are – a last-minute rush of notices, entirely predictable, entirely avoidable and entirely devastating for those of us on the receiving end.

This process has taken a real toll on my mental health in the very real sense of not knowing where I will live, how much I will have to pay, or whether I will be able to remain in the city where I have built my life.

And while landlords are often the visible actors, the government cannot escape responsibility. Delays in reform have created the perfect conditions for this situation. If you announce change years in advance but fail to implement it in time, you effectively signal to the market: act now.

At the same time, London rents continue to rise. Without meaningful limits, choice in the rental market is largely fictional; tenants move not because they want to, but because they are priced out or pushed out.

We are often told that housing policy is complex. But for tenants, the reality is painfully simple: we can do everything right and still lose our homes. If this is what reform looks like, one is left wondering who it was really designed to protect.
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