A GROUP of tenant activists have stopped the “no-fault” eviction of an elderly east London couple after they stood in the rain for hours to block the landlord from entering.

Forty London Renters Union (LRU) members frustrated an attempt at a section 21 eviction, which is due to be made illegal under the Renters’ Rights Bill currently making its way through Parliament.

Tenants peacefully prevented the landlord and a locksmith from entering the home of Najib Noori and his wife Muskaan Noori in East Ham on Thursday.

LRU said it had gained “vital time”for the couple and warned that, even when “no-fault” evictions are banned under the proposed legislation, many will still be forced to leave their homes by unjust rent increases.

According to homelessness charity Shelter, 60,000 tenants are pushed out of their homes each year by rises in rent.

Mr Noori said: “Today was a very important day. If it wasn’t for the LRU, I would have been on the streets today with my wife.”