Generation Rent supporter John describes just how terrible an unfair eviction during the Christmas period is.

In October we were given eight weeks notice to leave our family home of eight years. Never have we missed a month’s rent. We pride ourselves on being good tenants who keep our home well looked after – but none of that matters. We must be out by Christmas Eve.

I have spent about a decade renting in the private sector. This covered my time as student through to working full time. Sometimes I’ve been tempted to try to work out how much I’ve actually spent on rent during the ten years, but I haven’t dared do it as I’m sure the answer would just be too depressing. For me, renting has meant fighting to get deposits back, pleading with letting agencies or landlords to get basic repairs carried out, having to leave a property a short notice as it was being sold, and being trapped in a cycle of fees and ever increasing rents. My longest period at a property was three years, and the shortest was six months

Firstly, this isn’t my real name, I’ve disguised it because we live in a rural area and if I am identified as the source of this story, it will jeopardise our search for a new home as we will be seen as ‚Äòtroublemaking’ tenants. That very fact, tells you how nefarious Section 21 is as a piece of legislation.

Generation Rent supporter Emma explains what it’s like facing a revenge eviction and the effect of discrimination in the private rental market as a disabled renter.

Generation Rent supporter Katie tells us about the impossibility of making their house into a home in the current private rental market.

Generation Rent supporter Anna tells her story of renting while Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions continue.

I have been renting my studio flat for about two and a half years. I received my first Section 21 ‚Äòno fault’ eviction notice in the summer of 2019, but it turned out to be invalid because the property lacked a mandatory license.

I received my second Section 21 notice in the middle of March last year, shortly before the UK went into lockdown. For me, the timing of this turned out to be fortuitous, because the accompanying eviction ban meant that my landlady didn’t have a chance to apply to the courts before the expiration of the notice. Despite the difficulties and reduced work hours that the series of lockdowns have caused me, the relative housing security the government afforded renters has been the silver lining.

Generation Rent supporter Gemma tells us about the fears of homelessness that come with Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

Generation Rent supporter Shaun discusses the financial and emotional costs of Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

My husband and I have had an assured shorthold tenancy since 1997. I’m 65 years of age and my husband is 69. Over the years we have had to carry out repairs to the property ourselves which we have been prepared to do. Since December 2019, our landlord has been continually harassing us, removing our boundary fences and hedges, while we were away prior to lockdown. He has taken control of our garden, leaving us without any privacy whatsoever.

We used to have dogs that enjoyed the freedom of the garden but they have sadly passed away. We cannot get another dog as we wouldn’t be able to keep it contained within the garden. In fact, we now get other neighbours’ dogs and foxes coming into our property and there is nothing to stop them.

Our landlord is also removing our driveway and has left the edges in an unsafe state causing us to suffer twisted ankles and injuries when we take rubbish to our bins. One Saturday afternoon in June our landlord and his son demolished our own shed and greenhouse while our possessions were still in them. They had been in place the whole time we’ve lived here and were put there with his permission.

Everything has been done completely unannounced and behind our backs and seems to have been done to drive us out of the property.

It can be difficult to think back on life before the coronavirus lockdown. But even as long ago as the first week in March, we knew we were on the cusp of it. It was during this time, when the lockdown turned from an ‚Äòif’ to a ‚Äòwhen’, that my family were greeted with a section 21 ‚Äòno fault’ eviction notice.

Immediately we began searching for a new home, for ourselves and our two children. Unfortunately, it seemed every renter in Solihull had the same idea as us. With each day bringing us closer to a lockdown, the competition to secure a rented property grew fiercer. One day my partner and I walked away from a viewing and past a rival renter, who proceeded to look from the driveway at the outside of the property and say “yeah I’ll take it” before we had even made it to our car.