MP served with no-fault eviction notice day after being elected

An MP has said he was served an eviction notice the day after being elected to Parliament.

During debate on the Renters’ Rights Bill in the Commons, Liberal Democrat MP Olly Glover said he received the Section 21 no-fault eviction notice on the morning of Friday July 5.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has promised the Bill will end no-fault evictions, put tenants in a stronger position to challenge unreasonable rent increases, and place restrictions on landlords to ensure they can only raise rent once a year at the market rate.

Mr Glover opened his contribution to the debate by telling MPs he was blindsided to be told he would have to leave his current home within two months.

He said: “My result was declared around 6.30 in the morning, like so many of us, I had been awake for 24 hours and I was exhausted, but also elated.

“When I got home, I had breakfast and then a couple of hours sleep. I was woken up by hearing something being put in my letterbox. This in itself was not unusual. My landlords received my post and put it in that box. They lived just 25 metres away.

“I wondered, what could it be? Another magazine from a charity I support, a credit card bill, perhaps even a belatedly delivered Liberal Democrat election leaflet.

“But when I opened the letter, it was something even worse than that – a Section 21 eviction notice stating that my landlords were intending to retire and giving me just over two months to find somewhere else to live and to move out.

“I had been renting that home for more than four years. I’ve always rented and up to that point I generally had a good experience, so I have no particular axe to grind.

“But receiving that eviction notice via letter, without any prior conversation or indication it may be coming, was really not what I needed any morning, let alone that morning when my head was spinning from having been elected.”

The latest official figures showed that the number of households assessed as needing homelessness help as a result of a Section 21 no fault eviction notice rose by almost 8% year-on-year, from 24,260 to 26,150 in the year to March.

The member for Didcot and Wantage said being evicted without warning was “tough” but would be “far worse” for people with children or with family caring responsibilities.

He said: “In my Oxfordshire constituency in the town of Didcot, the average house price is 14.8 times the average annual salary.

“This significant disparity highlights the need for more homes that are cheaper than market rent, so that young people wanting to start families can afford to remain living in the area.”

Mr Glover concluded: “In a free market economy, people, of course, have the right to invest in property, but I feel it is important that we remember that a home is far more than a financial asset.

“Unlike stocks and shares, a home is a place of safety, security, shelter, warmth, comfort, privacy and somewhere to raise a family. This should always be our starting point.”