Tenant Jess Thiari fights to keep the tears at bay, hugging her little dog Pip close, as she describes the turmoil triggered by a letter from a new landlord telling her she is being evicted from her home in Moseley.
"It's hard to put into words how devastated I feel. This is my home, my safe haven, and I have to just pack up and go, just like that. It's thrown everything up in the air."
Jess, 41, is among the 11 tenants, their four dogs and three cats in flats in a Victorian house in Moseley who have been given their marching orders by the property's brand new owner. The notice came days before a new law banning no-fault evictions like it.
All the tenants in the eight flats of the former Park Hall residence in Park Hill had a mirror image letter, telling them in no uncertain terms they had to move out.
Behind the move is the property's new owners, Deesom Investments Ltd. They bought the premises in a private sale that concluded last week.
They say they intend to undertake a full refurbishment of the property and need to evict tenants to get on with it. An upgrade is 'necessary and ultimately in the best interests of the property and its future occupants,' they said in a statement. They did not confirm their intentions around future use of the property.
The rapid move to evict, just days before the Renters' Rights Act comes into force, has been described by tenants as a 'callous' and 'morally reprehensible' act. All those affected could be homeless in two months.
Resident stories
Jess's Story
Jess lives with her 13 year old Jack Russell-Shih Tzu cross Pippin. She works as a storeroom manager for a stone and paving firm in the city but is currently off sick after suffering a pulmonary embolism that could have killed her. She's also dealing with an anxiety condition.
She's lived in the same flat for over seven years, surrounding herself with her memories and 'trinkets'. It's a wonderful place to live, she says.
She found out of the eviction when she returned from a weekend visit with relatives. A neighbour spied her arrival and warned her of a 'letter' she needed to see.
"I went to the door, saw this letter in a brown envelope...it was handwritten, said my name, I opened it. I was just like, is this for real? 'This isn't a joke', (the neighbour) said. It's not a joke. They had their letter too."
"We were (both) just stood there. I was reading it and I just couldn't believe it. Honestly, I was shocked. And then it was mostly shock and then devastation because yeah, still, even now, it's quite hard to take it all in, to be honest."
"Stress is the last thing I need right now for my health. But everything's spinning. I don't know where I can now afford to live, whether landlords will take Pip, a lot of places don't let dogs. It's a lot, suddenly."
"I have family come to stay but mostly I am here alone but this place feels so safe, we are all so close, we check in on each other, we look after each other's pets, it's a real community and so peaceful."
"I've never had a place that was just my own before this. I use the word 'haven' because that's what it is for me."
She is also worried that a move might set back her recovery or force her back to work sooner than she should.
Jess added: "I think I was in too much shock to cry at first, until later that evening, I got into bed, I just stared at the ceiling. I was thinking, I'm not going to have this (home) for much longer, and I don't know what I'm going to do."
Sharonjit and Olly's story
Sharonjit Sutton and Olly Romoff moved in a year ago and are among the newest tenants.
"We've loved it here. The sense of community you get from everyone is incredible. If there are any problems, someone would run up and help us with something, or we'll come downstairs. That's (a big) thing that we will miss when we have to leave."
The eviction notice was a 'real bolt from the blue'. "We knew the previous landlord was selling up but he told us it would likely have no impact on us, and that he's given the new owners positive references for us all."
"We learned the house was sold on Friday. On Monday letters evicting us were pushed under our doors."
"It's devastating and very unfair. What they are doing is legal but that doesn't stop it being morally reprehensible."
Sharonjit is a member of the Birmingham Fair Housing Campaign, which she joined after experiencing multiple problems in previous rental properties.
"We viewed somewhere (yesterday), the conditions weren't great and someone else viewing with us has also just been served with a Section 21 Notice," she added.
Another neighbour, Adam Garghan, says he's endured sleepless nights trying to get his head round what's happened.
He worries for other neighbours, who include a family, a disabled tenant who receives daily carer visits, and a renter who has called the place home for more than two decades.
Adam has been here seven years. "I was settled, happy, going to work, enjoying home, no concerns whatsoever. And it's like, this just happens, and it's devastating."
Fighting the eviction notice is an option the tenants are considering. They are in touch with community activist group Acorn who will be advising on next steps. Shelter and Citizens Advice have also been contacted.
Response from the owners
The house was previously owned and managed by Carl Bellingham, a local construction expert and landlord. Tenants spoke highly of him as a fair landlord who had kept rents low.
Speaking to BirminghamLive, he praised the tenants for being 'no trouble, really lovely people'. He said the property had not undergone a major upgrade for years but had been kept in 'decent' condition. He said he felt 'really bad' when he became aware of the eviction notices when he turned up to visit tenants on Monday.
He claimed the letters went out before the new owners had even been handed the keys to the building and that, while representatives had spoken of wanting to upgrade the house during sale negotiations, he did not expect evictions to result.
He added: "Being a landlord is increasingly costly, especially at the lower end," he said. "A while ago I had to weigh up whether to retain the house or sell it, and decided to go for a sale."
The new landlords are Birmingham based Deesom Investments Ltd, based at a unit on Magreal Industrial Estate in Freeth Street, Ladywood, and led by directors Sarah Alibhai and Maria Nawaz.
In a full statement they said: "We appreciate the concerns that have been raised and understand the situation is difficult for the current tenants. We would like to provide some context regarding our position.
"Our company have been in negotiations with the previous owners since early December 2025. Completion...was delayed for several months, but throughout this process we had made it clear to the previous owners that, should the transaction proceed, we intended to undertake a full refurbishment program of the property. We would have presumed that the previous owner would have informed his tenants that a sale was progressing and of the new owners' intentions to fully refurbish the property.
"As part of our due diligence during this period, we identified that the building is in a poor state of repair and requires significant works to bring it up to our acceptable standard."
They said one tenant had spoken of a rat infestation. They also said the property's energy performance was 'between D and E' and they intended to make 'substantial improvement' to bring it to a minimum of a C rating, in line with planned legislation.
"While we fully sympathise with the tenants and recognise the disruption this situation may cause, we believe that undertaking a comprehensive refurbishment is necessary and ultimately in the best interests of the property and its future occupants.
"Unfortunately, this means we have had to take steps that impact the current tenancies. We would also like to emphasise that we are committed to supporting affected tenants during this transition and will be offering assistance in their search for alternative accommodation."
We further asked the company if it was willing to outline its intentions for the property and others it had recently purchased, or offer current tenants first choice to return, and await their reply.
Have you been affected in the last two weeks by a no fault eviction? Get in touch - email jane.haynes@reachplc.com
