A South London couple face being turfed out of their home after losing a High Court battle against Lambeth Council. Jules Zakolska and July Kaliszewski are among 40 private renters across six estates in the borough still clinging onto their homes amid a bitter dispute with the council.
Lambeth wants to reclaim 160 homes across Fenwick in Clapham, Central Hill in Gipsy Hall and Cressingham Gardens in Tulse Hill along with three other estates. Council leaders view it as a necessary measure to curb the surge in homeless families requiring temporary accommodation in the area.
All 160 properties are owned by Homes for Lambeth – a Lambeth Council-owned company – a loophole that allows the council to rent the properties out to private renters at market rates. These renters are on rolling 12-month contracts and many told residents told MyLondon that they experienced “unbearable stress” when they were informed about the pending evictions in February last year.
Jules, who lives in a one-bedroom flat in the Fenwick Estate with her partner July, told MyLondon their section 21 eviction notice comes into effect on June 23. The case of a fellow tenant was rejected by the High Court earlier this week which ruled Lambeth Council had acted lawfully.
It was centred around whether the 160 affected had the same rights as social tenants if they were renting from an entirely council-owned subsidiary. In dismay, Jules said the decision ‘cemented her lack of faith in the judicial system’.
She said: “The lack of sense and logic behind this astounds me. It’s so immoral, section 21 evictions won’t be legal when the Renters Reform Bill goes through, and Lambeth Labour even opposed them in their council manifesto in 2019.
“The fact we have to engage in this parade is undignifying. Most of us would be considered to be in priority need. From my own assessment the majority of people are vulnerable and would be in the most vulnerable. Our life is going to be uprooted. The stress we’ve gone through is insane.”
Jules was diagnosed with fibromyalgia shortly before the ordeal began, so claims Universal Credit as she is unable to work. July is studying at university, while he also works as a bartender in Soho. Together they pay £1,310 in rent, so believe they won’t be able to afford London rent anymore due to increased housing costs.
As a result of this, the couple has criticised recent statements from Lambeth Council which state the Homes for Lambeth residents “currently have the means and resources to pay market rent”.
Jules continued: “It’s a very misleading statement to claim we have enough means to move. We struggle to pay the rent as it is, and might even end up in temporary accommodation ourselves.”
Lambeth Council response
A statement from Cllr Danny Adilypour, Lambeth Council’s deputy leader and housing lead, following the High Court verdict reads: “Lambeth is on the front line of a national housing crisis, and we are doing everything we can to provide the most disadvantaged and vulnerable families in Lambeth with a safe, decent home.
“It is right that we are taking back former council homes that were lost through Right to Buy. We need to use these properties to provide safe, secure homes for our most vulnerable residents in urgent need of housing, rather than leaving them to be rented on the private market to those who have the means and resources to pay market rent.
“The number of homeless households supported by the council has increased by 50% in the last two years, and Lambeth is now providing temporary accommodation for over 4,700 homeless households every night. The cost of housing homeless families in overnight accommodation has risen to more than £100million a year. This is why we have to use all of the properties available to us to support these homeless households and bring these costs down.”
Lambeth Council has confirmed 70 per cent of the 160 affected properties have now been returned to them. Some 71 properties are in the process of being re-let, 57 have already been re-used to house people currently in temporary accommodation.
Cllr Adilypour added: “We need to use these homes for those in most urgent need of housing. Where a household currently privately renting one of these properties is owed a housing duty, we will assess their needs and work with them to ensure they receive appropriate support.”
Stay updated on the top South London stories. Sign up to our MySouthLondon newsletter HERE for the latest daily news and more.
