Michael finally has a reason to smile
A private tenant who fought off two retaliatory evictions before being hit with a 70% rent rise was celebrating today after a rent assessment tribunal cut the proposed £450 increase to £2.50.
Michael James, who has lived in his Shadwell apartment for 25-years, has been battling to remain in his home since reporting dangerous conditions to the council in late 2013 after the landlord ignored his concerns.
For years property guardian companies told their tenants they were only entitled to two week’s notice if the owner requested their property back.
They have also been known to evict tenants within a week for breaking the terms of their agreement, for example, by having a party.
They believed getting tenants to sign temporary licenses – instead of tenancies – made the terms legitimate.
BUT CONTRACTS DON’T SUPERSEDE THE LAW – in particular the Prevention from Eviction Act 1977
The law protects any “residential occupier”, who has the right to live in a property whether by license, tenancy or other contract.
It states that an eviction notice is not valid unless it is in writing and is given at least four weeks in advance of the proposed eviction date. This is true whether the property guardian company wants to return the building to its owner or if you have had a wild party and kept everyone up all night and they want to kick you out.
However, if the “resident occupier” has not vacated the premises by the eviction date the property guardian company must go through the courts to legally gain possession.
The law states: “It shall not be lawful for the owner to enforce against the occupier, otherwise than by proceedings in the court, his right to recover possession of the premises.”
Making the property guardian go to court to get you out will get you an extra month or three in your home. The bailiffs will notify you in advance of the date and time they will come and expect you to be out.
It should also be noted that if you leave your home voluntarily – before a court orders your eviction – you cannot present yourself to the council as homeless.
ILLEGAL EVICTIONS ARE A CRIMINAL OFFENCE!
That means that if you believe you have been evicted illegally you should go to the police. It is likely they will tell you it’s a civil matter, but tell them IT’S NOT! IT’S A CRIMINAL OFFENCE. You should also consult a solicitor (TV Edwards are good).
Housing solicitors have reported a number of cases where tenants – or “residential occupiers” – have won substantial payouts from property guardian companies either through the courts or in out-of-court settlements for illegally evicting people.
In both cases the settlement required the claimant not to reveal the company’s name: their business model depends on the belief they can get people out quickly.
WARNING
Of course if you want to maintain a good relationship with the company so you can continue using them it may be advisable to leave when asked, but if you’ve got nothing to lose, maybe it’s worth staying to fight!
MORE READING
Nearly legal housing law blog on property guardians
Last week Tower Hamlets Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations held a hustings dedicated to one of the most pressing issues in the borough: housing.
Candidates from Labour (Rushanara Ali), Conservative (Matt Smith), Lib Dems (Teena Lashmore), Greens (Alistair Polson) and TUSC (Glyn Robbins) all graced the stage to answer questions from a passionate and informed audience.
Frankly their personal views matter little given the area is a Labour safe seat and policy is formed not by our local MPs, but by the upper echelons of the party, their advisers and of course those able to get close enough to lobby them.
Tower Hamlets Renters and Action East End held a stall at Chrisp St Market to find out what residents and traders thought about the proposed £300m regeneration scheme.
Traders at Chrisp Street market have criticised landlord Poplar Harca over the lack of information being offered about a £300m regeneration programme that will force them out for at least three years with no guarantee they can return.
Poplar Harca plans to redevelop the old market square and surrounding estates between 2017 and 2020, and replace them with a modern shopping precinct with cinema, restaurants, leisure and cultural facilities, and 750 new homes.
On top of the lack of information, the scheme has been repeatedly delayed since 2012 leaving tenants and traders living in uncertainty and unable to plan for the future.
Tower Hamlets Council is holding a series of public meetings (see below) on introducing a landlord licensing scheme for residents to learn how it will work and benefit them.
Officially the scheme is to force landlords to take more responsibility for their properties and the tenants that live in them – in particular to tackle anti-social behaviour: noisy neighbours, rubbish being left out on the street, drug dealing or properties being allowed to fall into a state of disrepair.
In reality the scheme can also be used to pressure and force landlords to take better care of their properties and meet minimum legal standards to the benefit of their tenants. Any landlord who is found to break the conditions of the license – including not having one – faces a fine of up to £20,000, a potential ban from operating in the borough, and is prevented from evicting their tenants.
Please join us for our next meeting: 7-9pm, Tues, 14 April, at Unite Community Centre, basement St Georges Hall, 236 Cable Street, Shadwell, E1 0BL.
So the summer appears to be here – for now at least – so what better than to organise a day out in the sun campaigning for safe, secure and affordable housing – and to prevent the loss of what we have! The action will take place at the end of the month. Continue reading
Tower Hamlets Council is currently consulting on implementing a landlord licensing scheme.
The scheme is aimed at forcing landlords to manage their properties more professionally by following the law and meeting housing regulatory standards.
The belief is that improved management should lead to improved condition.
Tower Hamlets Council is set to launch its consultation on introducing a landlord licensing scheme next week despite the government announcing it will restrict local authorities’ ability to implement them.
The three month programme will feature seven roadshows across the borough where residents can learn and ask about how licensing will work and benefit residents.
The scheme requires private landlords to license every rental property on condition of paying a small fee and meeting a series of criteria such as having energy performance certificates and electrical and gas safety certificates as well as passing a fit-and-proper-person test.
In Newham, where the scheme was introduced in January 2013, 20 landlords renting out 300 properties have been banned from operating in the borough while hundreds have been prosecuted – with some fined as much as £20,000 – for breaking housing regulations.
While the scheme is set up to improve the management of properties it is also expected to improve conditions as landlords up their game for fear of prosecution, but also become educated about their obligations.
It can all be a bit overwhelming at times: evictions, marches, occupations, local meetings, regional ones, new local grassroots campaigns launching every month.
It’s great that people are taking action and standing up for what should be their rights, but it’s sometimes hard to keep up.
So a sprinkle of talks, workshops and social events can provide a good opportunity to catch up, meet those involved and learn from each other in a relaxed environment.
Please join us for our next meeting on Tuesday evening between 7-9pm in the basement of St Georges Town Hall, 236 Cable Street, Shadwell, E1 0BL.
We’ll be discussing our next move following the successful demonstration against Poplar Harca’s approach to regenerating Poplar: demolishing and selling off social housing and replacing them with properties for sale on the private market. Continue reading
Tower Hamlets Renters 