I’m being kicked out my home with my 2 kids & face being homeless but it’s NOT my fault…landlord is inhumane

A MUM-of-two is being forced out of her family home through no fault of her own by an “inhumane” landlord.

The distressed resident, from Swale in Faversham, is living in fear that she and her kids will end up on the streets after being served a hated Section 21 notice.

Andrew Barr

This policy allows a landlord to legally kick out renters for no reason with as little as two-months notice.

But, Swale Borough Council told the desperate mum-of-two she can’t be put on the social housing register until her eviction is in writing.

The mum told KentOnline: “It’s a horrible situation. After being secure for so many years, suddenly everything changes.

“I feel like I’m in limbo and it feels really unhealthy to be so insecure. It’s inhumane.”

The 49-year-old, who works full time, is also worried about what will happen to the two family dogs after they are removed from their three-bed £750 per month house.

She claimed “nobody [landlords] wants to touch her” because she has housing benefits and tax credits due to low wages.

If I leave this property to go and stay with friends or anything then they won’t be able to help me

And, with the cheapest available properties of a similar size within 10 miles costing nearly £1,200 a month, the resident feels totally at the mercy of SBC.

She has lived in the area for 30 years and branded renting prices “ridiculous”.

“They’re all out of my price range and the ones that I could afford, I get turned down because of what I’m earning,” she explained.

When she was first told the landlord planned to sell up about a year ago, she went to apply for the social housing register.

But, the mum-of-two was turned away because she “didn’t have a housing need”.

Instead, she was directed to the homeless register – where she was turfed out again and informed they could only help on the day of eviction.

The mum-of-two has been told to “stay here in this house” like a sitting duck in the meantime.

“If I leave this property to go and stay with friends or anything then they won’t be able to help me,” she added.

A spokesperson for Swale Borough Council said: “We of course are sympathetic to the situation and our prevention team are in contact with her to go through her options.

“We would never insist people remain in their property until a bailiff warrant is executed,

“Sadly, the number of people in need of social housing far outweighs the housing that is available.

“We currently have 1730 people on the housing register with only 300 properties becoming available each year.

“If someone is threatened with homelessness our first step would be to try and prevent this, by helping people stay in their current home through negotiation and mediation with landlords.

“If this is not possible, we will try and help households find alternative accommodation. 

“If alternative accommodation can’t be found, due largely to current shortages, a household may need to make a homeless application, however central government legislation dictates who we can help and offer temporary accommodation to.

“We are only able to work with people once there is a threat of homelessness, such as a valid notice from the landlord.

“We will do everything we can, within our powers, to assist Lisa with her current situation.”

It comes as Michael Gove pledged to ban the controversial no-fault evictions back in February in time for the next general election.

Ministers first vowed to outlaw Section 21 notices in the 2019 Tory manifesto – but a new Bill to seal the deal still hasn’t passed.

It follows as the number of tenants evicted from rentals through no fault of their own shot up by a third last year.

Landlords dished out 30,230 Section 21 notices – the highest number since 2016.

Nationally, over one million people are still on social housing waiting lists.