A young mother has been served an eviction notice by her landlord despite being heavily pregnant – and now worries where she will be able to bring up her new baby and three-year-old
Instead of preparing a nursery for her new arrival, 24-year-old Chelsea Reeves is packing boxes.
After settling into her two-bedroom home in Kent in early 2023, Chelsea’s world was upended when she was given a Section 21 “no-fault” eviction notice over the phone. A section 21 notice is a “no-fault” eviction -used by private landlords in England to regain possession of a property from assured shorthold tenants (ASTs) without providing a reason.
The young mum is already raising her three-year-old brother, Hugo, while managing the physical toll of scoliosis and pelvic girdle pain from her pregnancy. Now, Chelsea says the looming eviction has turned a high-risk pregnancy into a race against time as her eviction date is the same day as her due date in May.
“I have nowhere else to go to as I’d never planned to be made homeless or be given a section 21 where I’m so close to giving birth. I never thought something like this would happen to me in the three years that I’ve lived in this property,” she told The Mirror.
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The young mum said it’s the “worst situation she could be in while pregnant” and said she is also unemployed which means she accepts it will be a struggle to find somewhere else. She said: “I haven’t managed to find anywhere and I don’t think I’ll be able to private rent due to not working. I wouldn’t pass criteria checks as you need to earn a certain amount of money to be able to rent somewhere new and in my area I’m looking around £1500 a month for a two bed house or flat.”
The stress has landed her in hospital after it was feared she had gone into early labour. She said: “All of the stress, not only is it impact in my life physically it’s also affecting my pregnancy. I had a miscarriage before this pregnancy and I’m just hoping to make it to the end to be honest and actually give birth to a healthy baby with no stress.”
Since being in her property, Chelsea claimed she had to put up with a lot of issues in the house such as mould and having no working boiler. “I never complained about all the problems that I had. I was so understanding when I went three weeks with no boiler.”
“Everyone knew that I was pregnant. My landlord knew and my estate agents knew I’m still currently living in the house as I’m not due to move out until May. I don’t really have any plans as I don’t know what the f*** to do. I’ve not really had support from anyone else.
“I’m due to give birth the same day in two months. I don’t know how they expect me, like, I won’t be able to move out if I’m going to be giving birth,” she added.
Chelsea has a big online following on social media, where she posts under the username @Keepingupwithchels. In one video, Chelsea broke down while explaining her situation, sobbing as she said: “We didn’t ask for a rent reduction, didn’t ask for money on my electricity when I was spending £20 a day on using heaters. I was a good tenant.”
While her estate agent has put her in contact with other landlords to find somewhere to live, she is still worried about getting a place in time before her baby is born.
Openly speaking about her struggles with anxiety and depression, Chelsea said her priority is “looking after myself, my unborn baby, and keeping life as normal and stable as possible for Hugo. He’s already experienced a lot of change in his little life, and he deserves calm, love, and routine through all of this.”
Chelsea said she is grateful for the friends around her and for her unborn baby’s family who have offered her health and support. “There are so many people trying their best to help us through this, and I don’t want that to go unseen. Right now I’m just taking things one step at a time, focusing on my children and our wellbeing, and hoping things will work out the way they’re meant to.”
The government are cracking down and giving renters more rights in the UK, and among the new measures in the Renters’ Reform Act. As of May 1, 2026, the Section 21 eviction notices will be banned. But sadly for Chelsea, this law hasn’t come into place yet.
Section 21 notices – also referred to as “no-fault evictions” – have been blamed for leaving thousands of families vulnerable to homelessness every year. Housing Secretary Steve Reed said: “We’re calling time on no fault evictions and rogue landlords. Everyone should have peace of mind and the security of a roof over their head – the law we’ve just passed delivers that
“We’re now on a countdown of just months to that law coming in – so good landlords can get ready and bad landlords should clean up their act.” The government said councils across England will be legally responsible for overseeing the new rules from May next year. They will be able to impose fines of up to £7,000 for breaches.
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