New renter protections backfire as evictions surge across England
Train driver Daniel Franklin-Smith, 33, was under the impression the Renters' Rights Act, which becomes law today, was meant to help him. Instead, he faces eviction because of it. The new rules, which come into force in England on 1 May, will give tenants the greatest boost to their rights in a generation. Landlords will be banned from evicting tenants without a good reason. They also won't be able to lock them into fixed-term contracts, with tenants being free to leave at any time with two months' notice. The act will also give renters better rights to challenge poor conditions and unreasonable rent increases without fear of retaliatory eviction. But for Daniel, who spends 30 per cent of his income renting a one-bed apartment in Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire for £1,350 a month, it has led to him being asked to leave his home. His landlord decided to sell the property to avoid having to deal with the legal changes, which will make life harder for many landlords. This scenario has played out all over the country, with landlords rushing to evict tenants or raise rents ahead of today. Daniel doesn't blame his landlord, instead describing him as 'one of the good ones' who hasn't raised his rent in three years. 'He's a great landlord and a sweet guy,' says Daniel. 'I moved into the flat in December 2021. He only increased the rent in December 2022 and hasn't done so since - I think because he recognised I am a decent tenant who looks after the place. Whenever I had a problem he fixed it immediately. When the boiler stopped working, he fixed it in three hours, and when there was a problem with the lock on the front door, it was sorted in 90 minutes. Before serving me my notice to leave, he first called me and then came round to tell me face-to-face that he would be selling and that I'd need to leave. He has six other properties and is selling them all as he is worried the Renters Rights Act will prevent him from having any control or flexibility over his properties.' Daniel is now flat hunting and facing the prospect of paying far higher rent to live in properties that look 'a lot worse' than the one he is currently living in. He recognises there are positives for tenants in the Renters Rights Act, but if it means some tenants will no longer have a home, then he thinks it needs revisiting. 'I am not benefitting from it and six or more other people are also not benefitting because my landlord is also selling his six other properties,' he says. 'I have to be out by end of May. I just feel really disappointed, as someone who has worked hard all my life, I just feel like I am victim of more bad Government policy. I have been renting since 2013 and have been saving up to buy my first home during that time. This setback means getting on the ladder will just take me even longer. 'I pay £1,350 a month currently. I'm now looking at worse properties in the same area that will cost £1,700 a month. To me, it's such a shame. This legislation has meant that I have lost my home and the rental community has lost a good landlord.' Daniel isn't alone in facing an eviction notice or rent increase as the Renters Rights Act approaches. Since the Act received Royal Assent almost six months ago, 11 per cent of tenants in England have been evicted or received notice of an eviction, according to a survey of 4,500 tenants by the house-share website SpareRoom. This rose to 12 per cent among tenants in London. Of the evicted tenants questioned, 43 per cent said their landlord had told them they planned to sell the property, but 23 per cent did not give a reason. Nine per cent admitted it was because of the Renters' Rights Act or other regulatory changes. As well as evicting tenants, landlords are increasing rents pre-emptively before it becomes more difficult to do so. Three in ten tenants in England who have stayed in the same rental property since November have had their rent increased, according to the Spareroom survey. Sandie Newham, 77, faced eviction from her flat in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk unless she upped her £1,050 a month rent to £1,150. Sandie, who lost her husband in 2017, has lived at the flat for eight years and considers it very much her home. 'Everyone I know has had their rents put up recently,' said Sandie. 'When I refused the rent increase - the letting agent responded by serving a 21 eviction notice. I was devastated - I still am. My mind went to some very dark places. I have nowhere else to go. I enquired about assisted housing in Bury St Edmunds, but they have 40 people on the waiting list and they only place people twice a year, so that wouldn't work. The whole experience made me ill and I could not eat or sleep. In the end I just had to agree to pay the rent increase.' Sandie blames the letting agent rather than her landlady, who she says she had a good relationship with up until the letting agent took over management when the landlady moved abroad. 'This is my home,' says Sandie. 'I have always kept it pristine. I have carried out work here with my landlord's permission and paid for it. I painted the hallway, the bathroom, had the extractor fan fixed and replaced taps. Now, with the letting agent in charge, when my dishwasher broke, it took them three months to replace it despite my landlady having paid for it.' Another lady contacted This is Money saying her landlady recently evicted her from the cottage she and her two sons had been living in for the last seven years in Herefordshire. Although her landlady didn't mention the new rules as a reason for serving the 21 eviction notice, she is convinced it's due to the Renters' Rights Act. 'I was a good tenant who looked after the place. I've been there for the last seven years and always paid the rent on time and agreed to the various rent increases over the years,' she said. 'She gave me notice just over two months ago, saying she wanted to sell the cottage. When I spoke to the letting agent, they said loads of landlords are getting spooked by the new rules and selling up.
