01 April 2023 , 18:44
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Crippling rent rises as high as 60% mean nearly a million private tenants are at risk of losing their homes, research reveals.
Housing charity Shelter predicts hundreds of thousands of evictions as people fail to afford sky-high rents.
Tenants also face a freeze in housing benefit and being turfed out for complaining.
Such “no fault” section 21 evictions soared from 792 to 1,942 between the last three months of 2021 and the same period last year, according to Office for National Statistics figures.
Lyn now lives in a van (Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)And charity Crisis said 6,200 people in England faced homelessness from July to September 2022 due to section 21 notices.
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The cruel orders, known as revenge evictions, are set to be outlawed this year. But critics fear legal loopholes will mean such evictions could continue.
ONS stats said the average rental increase in the year to February was 4.7% – the highest leap since 2016. But some tenants have been hit by rises up to 12 times that.
Lyn Pearman, 66, faced a 61% rent rise on her one-bedroom Kent flat – taking it from £433 to £700 a month. Her landlord said the rise was in line with the local market.
Lyn complained and asked for damp and faulty windows to be fixed – and was given a section 21 notice.
The former clothes shop manager sold most of her possessions and bought a £6,000 van. She now roams Kent by day and parks in residential streets at night. She said: “I go after dark and leave early in the morning, like a ghost in a ghost van.”
Lyn was made homeless when her landlord evicted her from the flat she was renting so he could then rent it out at an increased rate (Adam Gerrard / Sunday Mirror)Lyn’s TikTok videos have 37,000 followers and she said: “People have said I can visit for a meal, a shower, or park on their drive.” And her son has set up a GoFundMe page.
Meanwhile, a rent rise from £1,700 to £2,300 means public sector worker Ciara Wright, 26, has to quit a two-bed flat where she and a pal split the bills in North London.
She plans to live with her sister in Bradford, West Yorks, and work remotely. She said: “The normal working person doesn’t stand a chance.”
The Generation Rent campaign said wages have not kept pace with 20% rises in new tenancies post-pandemic. And Crisis chief Matt Downie said: “People need help. The Chancellor’s refusal to invest in housing benefit in his Budget means thousands will be unable to cover their rising rents.”
To help Lyn, visit gofundme.com/f/lyn-keep-warm-and-fuelled-on-her-travels
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