England's housing courts are at breaking point as renters battle no-fault evictions following the May 2026 rule change. Courts are said to be "overloaded" as landlords sell properties and tenants with nowhere to go try to delay evictions.
Surge in s21 notices before the deadline
Law centres across England saw a sharp rise in Housing Act 1988 s21 eviction notices before 1 May 2026, as landlords scrambled to use the 'no fault' mechanism before the Renters' Rights Act (RRA) 2025 reforms took effect. Although s21 notices could no longer be issued after 1 May, under the Labour Party government's changes, landlords had until 31 July to begin court proceedings on notices already served. Renters are therefore still facing evictions while courts work through the resulting backlog.
Legal aid services overwhelmed
Demand for housing advice has surged. Greater Manchester Law Centre, which runs the region's largest legal aid housing team, said it has been forced to turn away two-thirds of enquiries involving eviction and homelessness. Law Centres Network warned that new renter protections will only work if people can access advice and enforcement. With local authorities facing funding and capacity pressures, it is calling on the government to properly resource legal assistance so that renters can understand and enforce their rights.
Landlords turning to section 8 notices
Mustafa Sidki, a litigation partner at south-east law firm Thackray Williams, told the Guardian newspaper: "We saw a huge increase in section 21 evictions just before the act came in. Now we're getting a lot of instruction from landlords wanting to serve section 8 eviction notices [used when a tenant has breached a tenancy agreement] because they're selling up as they say it's no longer financially viable."
"The courts are overloaded – there's just not enough court time or judicial time to deal with it. And tenants are living in absolute stress because they don't know how long they've got. It used to take two to three months to get a hearing; now it can take up to a year."
Tenants refusing to vacate
"In every section 21 notice we served, the tenant didn't move out, they have refused to vacate and are asking the courts to give them more time to find alternative accommodation," said Sidki, who represents landlords and tenants. "There was a lot of talk about no-fault evictions ending, but technically they haven't – we're getting a lot of section 8 notices where the tenant isn't at fault, but the landlord has a right to sell," Sidki said. "Sometimes these are tenants who have lived in the property for a decade, and they can't find anywhere else to go."
The situation leaves renters in prolonged uncertainty, with court backlogs extending wait times for hearings from months to potentially a year, while legal aid services struggle to meet demand.
