Solicitors say they have been inundated with requests to serve last-minute section 21 no-fault eviction notices before they are banned when the Renters’ Rights Act comes into force in England on Friday.

The legislation, which has been hailed as the biggest change to renting in a generation, bans no-fault evictions, limits rent increases and abolishes fixed-term tenancies.

On the eve of the new rules, solicitors said they were working long hours to keep up with the sudden demand for eviction notices, while Citizens Advice said thousands of people facing a no-fault eviction had approached it for help in the last month.

In March, the service helped 2,335 people dealing with a no-fault eviction, up 16% on the same time last year, as well as more than 1,800 people dealing with disrepair such as damp and mould, and more than 1,000 with rent increases.

Thackray Williams, a London- and Kent-based law firm, said it had received a wave of last-minute instructions from landlords looking to evict their tenants and sell their properties because of the legislation.

“It’s been an absolutely manically busy day,” Mustafa Sidki, a partner at the firm, said on Wednesday. “We’ve had lots of landlords trying to serve last-minute section 21 notices, but also lots of tenants who have been served, seeking advice because people are desperate. This is people’s homes, people’s lives.”

He said the number of section 21 instructions he had received this year was up fourfold on last year. The last-minute nature of the requests had posed some logistical challenges: there was no longer enough time to post the notices, so landlords were paying for people to deliver the documents by hand to ensure they met the deadline.

“I’m having to say to them if I post it, it’s not going to be served on time, so you can either hand-serve it yourself or pay a process server to do it, with a photograph of themselves affixing it to the door or serving it through a letterbox. So if a judge raises a question down the line, you have the evidence you did it by 1 May,” Sidki said.

He said many buy-to-let landlords were concerned about having to cover their mortgage payments without rental income if their relationship with their tenant broke down. “People are scared. That’s why they’re doing the section 21 notices now, because it’s perceived to be quicker and easier than what’s coming.”

He added that many tenants were choosing to stay put until being served a warrant of possession – given to tenants who do not leave a property by the date given in an eviction order – due to a lack of available housing elsewhere.

“A lot of people are saying there’s no housing for them anywhere else and they can’t get social housing,” Sidki said. “The intention [of the new law] is good. But there’s still a lack of housing.”

As well as banning no-fault evictions, the law limits rent increases to once a year and upfront rent demands to one month’s payment. Bidding wars for rental properties are now banned, as are fixed-term rental agreements, and councils have been given new powers to investigate and clamp down on rogue landlords.

The law also bans discrimination against prospective tenants on benefits or who have children, and allows renters to request pets in their home, which landlords cannot unreasonably refuse.

Keir Starmer said: “For too long, families have lived with the constant fear of eviction while young people have been outbid for the homes they need to start their lives. Today we are putting that right. This historic action will make renting fairer, safer and more secure for millions.”

Ben Twomey, the chief executive of the campaign group Generation Rent, said Friday marked “a new era for private renters across England”.

He said: “This new law is a vital step towards rebalancing power between renters and landlords. For decades, section 21 evictions forced renters to live in fear of being turfed out of our homes, preventing us from raising valid concerns with our landlords. At last, this outdated and unfair law has been sent packing.”