Cheeky housing campaigners have issued spoof eviction notices to Hackney councillors, in a bid to shed light on the threat of eviction plaguing vulnerable residents.
As the rent hikes at New Era estate in Hoxton hit the news, renters group Digs sent out the eviction notices to all 57 local councillors, instructing them to leave their homes by September 4 to make way for fictional landlord ‘Simon Sleaziton, of Richershire’.
In an obvious dig to millionaire Tory MP Richard Benyon, whose family own shares in New Ere estate and lives in a stately home, the fake notice was followed by a plea to councillors to involve tenants in the design of the new landlord licensing scheme.
The spoofs were fake Section 21 ‘no fault eviction’ notices, which allow tenant in the private rented sector to be evicted with no official reason given by the landlord. Campaign groups like Digs argue that this worsens conditions in the sector, as requests for repairs, and resistance to rent hikes, can be met with eviction.
The notice was attached to a letter to the councillors, which said: “There are people, including the ill, the old and children, living in dangerous living situations with damp, mould, lack of heating, broken fixtures or shoddy wiring.
“But these tenants won’t report the problems, as a complaint to a landlord can lead to eviction.”
Section 21 is now under review in the Department for Communities and Local Government.
Digs has a monthly support group which meets on the last Monday of every month, 7pm at Kingshold Community Centre 49 Ainsworth Road E9 7JE.
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