A FAMILY has been made homeless just one week after moving into their new home.
Joanna Krawczyk, 45, is one of 150 families who are being threatened with eviction by Lambeth Council.
Just days after unpacking their furniture and belongings, Joanna, her husband and three young children were sent an eviction email.
Joanna, who rents her three-bedroom flat in Gipsy Hill, south London, for £1,700 a month has said the stress of being kicked out has resulted in her losing her cleaning business.
The mass exodus has been caused by a scheme to make the properties available to social tenants – which has been slammed as a botched cost-saving method.
The disaster first unfolded in 2017 when the council announced that estates across Gipsy Hill, Clapham North, Tulse Hill, Kennington, Stockwell and Nine Elms were due to be demolished and rebuilt.
Social tenants who were living in the estates were moved elsewhere.
To cover the interest on loans taken out for the redevelopments the council set up the Homes for Lambeth subsidiary to let out the properties to private renters for discounted prices on rolling contracts.
But in March last year, the council did a U-turn and abandoned the proposed scheme.
This was initially welcomed by the private renters, like Joanna and her family, as it meant they could remain in their new homes.
But in January, Lambeth Council started emailing the renters to inform them that they would need to leave their homes via email and letters in the post.
Speaking to MyLondon, Joanna said: “I initially thought it couldn’t be true.
“My life has been turned upside down. My husband works here, my children are settled in their schools.
“It will force us to leave London but we don’t want to,” she added.
Joanna, whose children are three, five and 17, said that her mental health took a severe turn and she lost clients and was unable to work.
She said that her family has “suddenly become a poor family” and she is on Universal Credit whilst searching for a new job.
Joanna joined the other evicted families and has held regular protests outside Lambeth Town Hall in Brixton.
Some of the private renters who were told they’d need to leave their homes this summer have received an extension until December.
YOU can fight a no-fault eviction through the courts, and usually get free legal advice.
Seek help as soon as you’re served a notice, to give you time to build a case.
The Government’s Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service provides early legal support on housing issues.
Look for a local provider at find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk.
The court can only void an eviction notice if it’s “invalid”, so your best bet is to prove it doesn’t meet the right criteria, advises housing charity Shelter.
For example, landlords must use Form 6A to issue a notice.
Nothing else is valid.
You must also be given two months’ notice to move out and it must be at least four months since the start of your original tenancy.
Reagan Jones, director of compliance at rental service Zero Deposit, says: “If your landlord doesn’t apply to the courts within six months of issuing a Section 21 notice, it becomes invalid and they will need to repeat the initial process.”
Unresolved issues with your home can also help your case.
Mr Jones adds: “A lack of a working smoke alarm or carbon- monoxide alarm could render a Section 21 invalid, among other property-related issues.
“Your landlord may have failed to give you electrical and gas-check certificates, illegally charged you fees or evicted you following a complaint you’ve made about the property,” he adds.
The security deposit on your home must be in a protected tenancy deposit scheme from when you move in.
WHAT IF MY NOTICE IS VALID?
THERE are still other ways to challenge being evicted.
Speak to your landlord and see if there’s room for negotiation, Mr Jones advises.
Most should be willing to negotiate and be flexible to give you time to find a new home.
Mr Jones adds: “If you do opt to remain in the property beyond your eviction date, you’ll be given an opportunity to voice your side of the story in the court process which can ultimately influence whether or not a possession order is granted.”
The estates impacted are Central Hill in Gipsy Hill, Fenwick in Clapham North, Cressingham Gardens in Tulse Hill, Knights Walk in Kennington, South Lambeth in Stockwell and Westbury estates in Nine Elms.
A Lambeth Council spokesperson told the publication: “The council is seeking to use all the properties it can to support those families most affected by the housing crisis. The properties in question are former right-to-buy homes that the council has bought back.
“These properties were let, on the open market, to private tenants on a fixed-term basis, as Assured Shorthold Tenancies, and this was only ever intended to be a short-term measure.
“We are planning to use them to provide vital housing for homeless families in our borough. When the time comes, existing tenants will be offered housing advice and support to help them find alternative accommodation.
“Lambeth is also committed to bringing empty homes back into use as quickly as possible, to house people in housing need.
“To help meet our Borough Plan ambition to make Lambeth a place we can all call home, the council has agreed an update to its strategy to bring empty properties on estates earmarked for renewal, back into use.”
The Sun has also approached Lambeth Council for comment.
