'I've lived in my town 35 years and face being homeless'
Marcus KatzA renter who has lived in the same town for 35 years has said he faces being made homeless, after he received a "no-fault" eviction notice just months before they are banned.
Marcus Katz said he was given two months to leave his home in Applethwaite, near Keswick, Cumbria, after his landlord decided to sell the property.
The landlord offered him the chance to buy and he put forward an offer of £350,000, but it was £50,000 below the asking price. He is now struggling to find a property in the Lake District town.
"For the first time in my life... I'm literally facing homelessness," he said.
"I could move down to Leicester to be with my partner, but I will leave behind 35 years of my life and she's already started to leave behind hers to come up here."
He said the opportunity to rent in the Lake District had "funnelled down to zero" over the last five years and finding a home, even those with local occupancy clauses designed to benefit residents, was difficult.
After being alerted to a property late one evening, he contacted the estate agent the next morning and was told it had gathered a "lot of interest".
The government announced last year "no-fault evictions" - known as Section 21 notices - would be banned on 1 May, as part of sweeping renters' reforms.
Katz said the change had made things worse for renters like him, as the ban had deterred private landlords from renting properties, leading to people being evicted before the deadline.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice show the number of tenants in England and Wales evicted by county court bailiffs after being given a Section 21 notice reached an all-time high of 3,105 in the third quarter of 2025.
The government announced its intention to end "no-fault" evictions two months later.
Data for 2026 has yet to be released, so it is unclear if more people are being evicted in the run up to the ban.
One in four homes in parts of the Lake District are used as holiday properties.
Labour MP for Penrith and Solway Markus Campbell-Savours - whose constituency covers Keswick - said he supported abolishing "no-fault" evictions because he feared landlords would switch to short-term lets as the government pushed on with its renters' rights bill.
"It's important the government works at pace to ensure the new law is implemented as quickly as possible, as we will inevitably see some take advantage of any delay," he said.
Fellow Cumbria MP Tim Farron, Liberal Democrat for Westmorland and Lonsdale, has called for local planning authorities to be given more powers to limit the number of short-term lets and ensure more social rented homes.
"The collapse of the long-term private rented sector into short-term holiday lets has resulted in many people not being able to afford to live and work in the Lake District," he said.
Westmorland and Furness Council said it had doubled council tax for properties "not used as a sole or main residence", which will generate £5m to invest back into communities.
"The premium is intended to encourage more permanent residents, alleviate housing shortages, while also generating revenue for the council to reinvest back into our communities," a spokesperson said.
Katz said it could be too late to invest in housing for locals and said a shift in the activities taking place in the Lake District was partly to blame.
"I'd say make more properties but there's just too much interest in Airbnbs and the influencer culture," he said.
"Last week, I looked out the window and I saw a group of lads walk through Applethwaite dressed as large babies for some stag do.
"I was thinking, '35 years ago they'd be hikers'."
