Shadow housing secretary James Cleverly has been handed an eviction notice from his landlord, who is selling his rental property.

Cleverly, a vocal critic of the Renters’ Rights Act, told the recent London Housing Summit that he blamed the upcoming reforms for his predicament after warning last year of “a six-month fire sale with tenants forced out at short notice”.

He told the conference: “I have just personally received a notice from my landlord, who is selling the house that I rent.”

Speaking to Inside Housing magazine, he added: “That experience is replicated thousands of times across the country as a tenure type. The private rented sector is basically being regulated out of existence by this government.”

Warned

Cleverly told The Telegraph: “Ministers were warned this would happen, but they ploughed on regardless. We are now seeing a clear spike in Section 21 notices as landlords act ahead of the Renters’ Rights Act coming into force. This is exactly the consequence the government dismissed.

“Labour ministers must now explain to renters why their actions have triggered a surge in evictions.”

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook (pictured) has insisted that his department did not expect a spike in Section 21 eviction notices ahead of the Act coming into force on 1^st May. He told Parliament earlier this week: “The latest Ministry of Justice official possession statistics show that there was a 17% decrease in Section 21 accelerated possession claims in England between October and December 2025 when compared to the same quarter in the previous year.”

Claims

However, Landlord Action figures directly contradict the minister’s claims. It reports that possession instructions jumped 60% year-on-year last month with enquiries up 75%, the highest spike on record. Section 21 cases are still running at nearly three times the level of Section 8.

Founder Paul Shamplina says: “Some landlords are choosing to exit the sector altogether, while others are regaining possession now rather than risk being unable to do so later,” he says. “While possession activity will inevitably slow once these changes come into force, much of the damage will already have been done.”

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