The landlord says the seven-year-old building needs refurbishment – residents suspect they’re sneaking in evictions before Section 21 notices are banned next year (Picture: Google)
A woman was served an eviction notice just two hours after signing a contract and paying the deposit on an apartment for no ‘clear reason’.
She’s among the more than 150 residents in 83 flats who face being kicked out of their homes at Vive Living, on Childers Street in Deptford, London, days before Christmas.
Another, Maryam Ahmed, 32, only moved in six months ago. She told The Independent: ‘Receiving the recent eviction notice has turned my life upside down, leaving me overwhelmed and distressed.’
The Section 21 notice – or ‘no fault eviction’ – has been an unwelcome addition to her ongoing health problems affecting her right hand.
Facing a possible surgery on the horizon, she said: ‘Instead of focusing on my health and recovery, I find myself scrambling to pack up my belongings – one-handed – and searching for a new place to live.
‘The thought of delaying essential medical treatment because I need to prioritise relocating is devastating.’
Nicola Ka, 26 has lived here for two years with her three-year-old son, who she now fears will be deprived ‘of a simple and secure life’.
The greengrocer, small business owner and student said: ‘This is a time of the year when I should be putting forward admissions for his primary school, and preparing a memorable holiday season.
‘But with the thought of facing homelessness with a child, I struggle with a level of anxiety I’ve never felt before.’
Residents have access to co-working spaces, a cinema, a café and roof terrace, with a two-bed apartment costing roughly £2,000 a month (Picture: Google)
In a statement, residents described the eviction notices as ‘intimidating’, saying: ‘Our local community, wider London, and all of the UK are suffering from a housing and cost of living crisis.
‘It is virtually impossible to find suitable, affordable housing in an already flooded, overpriced market. The local housing market cannot accommodate hundreds of us needing immediate rehousing.’
Section 21 notices are expected to be banned when the Renters’ Rights Bill likely becomes law in the first half of next year.
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Residents suspect the landlord is turfing them out now while eviction is still this easy, a move they describe as ‘predatory’.
A letter from the landlord claimed residents must leave to facilitate ‘upcoming refurbishment of the building’, which was finished in 2017, The Independent reports.
But residents report no serious defects, and the landlord has submitted no plans for substantial changes to Lewisham Council, a local councillor said.
Along with the local MP Vicky Foxcroft, other ward councillors, and chair of Lewisham’s housing …read more
Source:: Metro