Property company denies trying to mass-evict tenants before England’s no-fault evictions ban

Exclusive: Housing minister wrote to Criterion Capital seeking urgent answers after MP said it issued at least 130 section 21 notices

A property company accused of trying to mass-evict tenants in the weeks before no-fault evictions are banned has denied doing so, saying it is simply implementing “routine and lawful tenancy management”.

A statement from Criterion Capital, set up by the billionaire property magnate Asif Aziz, was issued in response to Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister, who wrote to the company to seek “urgent” answers about its plans.