No fewer than 11% of private tenants were evicted in the six months leading up to the Renters Rights Act kicking in last Friday, it’s claimed.

Lending service Creditspring says that since the Act received Royal Assent almost six months ago, 11% of renters have been evicted or received notice of an eviction. 

In London, that rises to 12%. 

And it claims that three in 10 tenants in England who remained in the same rental property since November say their rent has increased.

A spokesperson at Creditspring says: “The Renters Rights Act was meant to protect tenants from unfair eviction, but for some renters the opposite has taken place with people served notice or hit with steep rent rises just before the new rules took effect. 

“This has left renters facing exactly the kind of instability the reforms were meant to stop.”

Last week a law firm said it had a wave of last-minute instructions to sell portfolios ahead of the Renters Rights Act came into force on Friday.

Thackray Williams saidit also has instructions to conduct last-minute Section 21 notices for flats and houses.

Meanwhile in prime central London, Jo Eccles – managing director of buying agency Eccord – says: “A large number [of landlords] served notice to tenants in the run up to the changes, deciding to try to sell their property before they became locked into longer, rolling tenancies.

“As a result, we’ve seen a surge of tenants needing to find new properties. In the past fortnight alone, approximately 80% of tenants viewing properties with our rental team have been served notice by their previous landlords ahead of the new rules coming into force.”