Disabled man 'devastated' after no-fault eviction

A disabled man and his carer say they fear becoming homeless after being served a no-fault eviction notice just weeks before a government ban on the practice came into force.

Roger Parker and his friend Susie Bell have lived in their house in Highworth, near Swindon, for the past eight years but were issued with a Section 21 eviction notice in March after the landlord decided to sell the property.

Section 21 evictions - when a landlord does not have to provide a reason for their actions - were outlawed under the new Renters' Rights Act on 1 May.

A government spokesperson acknowledged "how distressing no-fault evictions can be" but said new laws meant they "cannot happen again".

Parker, 56, who is registered disabled and suffers from diabetes and limited mobility said the letter giving them two months' notice to leave had been "devastating".

"We have always been really happy here," he said. "We've always had a good relationship with the letting agency, so it just totally came out of the blue."

No-fault evictions became illegal in England on 1 May, but any Section 21 notice issued before this remains valid.

Since the new rules came into effect, Parker said, it had been difficult to find somewhere new to live with "less properties on the market".

"A lot of landlords don't want to be dealing with these extra new rules," he said.

"We are desperately checking properties everyday, hoping something comes up."

Parker said both he and his carer received Universal Credit which would cover his rent, but landlords "aren't interested" in renting to them despite having an "excellent reference" from their current agents and they do not qualify for social housing.

"We're really both at our wits end. We don't know exactly when we'll be removed from the property," he said.

"The only official option that we have - would be to go into emergency sheltered accommodation.

"If that was to happen, we'd have to surrender our beloved 11-year-old dogs - or literally we could be on the streets and homeless."

According to the government, the size of the private rental sector has remained "broadly stable since 2013/14".

It said landlords had been aware of "successive governments' plans to reform the private rented sector" since 2019.

"There was no need for landlords to evict tenants before they got stronger rights," a government spokesperson said.

"There is also no evidence of a landlord exodus since rental reform has been put on the table, and the number of new rental listings has increased by 2% over the last year."

But Nye Jones, from campaign group Generation Rent, said nationally they had "definitely" seen an increase in Section 21 evictions ahead of the implementation.

"Statistics from the Ministry of Justice showed that there was a 16% increase in Section 21 Evictions between April and June of this year, when compared to the same time period in 2025," he said.

Martin Mawdsley from the renter's union Acorn, which campaigns on housing and renters' rights issues, said they were "still having to fight for more security for tenants".

"Even since the ban came in, landlords still have the power to evict tenants in cases where they absolutely need to - there are still other ways," he said.

"We know across the country there are hundreds, even thousands, of people in the same situation [as Parker and Bell].

"My advice would be to try and fight as long as you can until you can find somewhere else."

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