In February this year, 31-year-old Vania Cotta received an email: “Section 21 notice,” it began. “You are required to leave the below address after 30th April 2026.” No reason was given for the eviction. “It was a shock,” says Cotta. “I almost feel like I’m grieving.” Cotta and her husband had moved into the flat in Kenton, north-west London, in October 2020; their two-year-old daughter was born in 2024. “It’s an amazing area. We finally felt that we were part of the community and church, which we’ve never felt living anywhere else. It feels like home — but I should have known a rental place can never be my home.”
Until now, Section 21 evictions have allowed landlords to end a tenancy without providing a reason. But they will be outlawed under the long-awaited Renters’ Rights Act, which comes into force on May 1. Now, if a landlord wants possession of their property, tenants must be given four months’ notice, plus a 12-month protected period at the beginning of their tenancy.
