Brighton single mum says ‘being evicted absolutely destroyed me’

A single mom who was compelled out her residence of 16 years has known as on the federal government to enhance renters’ rights.

After she was served a no-fault eviction discover, Keziah Hall and her teenage daughter have been refused a whole lot of leases in Brighton and ultimately positioned in emergency lodging by the council, which they described as unsafe and unsuitable.

Ms Hall stated the expertise “completely destroyed me as a mom” and “made me really feel like I used to be failing my daughter”.

Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) stated it was dedicated to offering protected and acceptable emergency housing, whereas the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) stated the Renters’ Rights Bill would give tenants better safety of their properties.

Ms Hall and her daughter, who’s 17, have been evicted from their privately rented residence in Portslade, West Sussex, in April 2024.

She known as on the federal government to ban no-fault evictions in order that nobody needed to undergo the identical “scary and horrible” expertise.

A tenant can presently be evicted with a Section 21 no-fault eviction discover once they come to the tip of their fixed-term tenancy or throughout a tenancy with no mounted finish date.

The MHCLG stated it might abolish them instantly after the Renters’ Rights Bill had handed.

A spokesperson of the National Residential Landlords Association stated her organisation was not against the change, however wished to see a “workable” various in place.

Ms Hall stated she utilized for 10-14 properties every week after receiving the eviction discover, however was regularly rejected.

Average month-to-month hire in Brighton and Hove was £1,738 in July 2024, in line with information from the Office for National Statistics.

Ms Hall says she couldn’t afford most rental properties in Brighton, and in addition believes being a single mom and PhD pupil restricted her choices.

Unable to discover a residence, Ms Hall and her daughter have been positioned in what she known as “tough” emergency lodging at a lodge by BHCC, the place she stated there have been two tried break-ins.

She stated her daughter briefly stopped school as a result of she was “petrified” of being within the lodge and “actually struggled” with their dwelling situations.

“It completely destroyed me as a mom,” stated Ms Hall. “It made me really feel like I used to be failing my daughter.”

She stated the room was not match for everlasting dwelling, with solely a microwave and no washer.

In an announcement, Gill Williams, cupboard member for housing and new properties at BHCC, stated the native authority was “dedicated to offering protected, clear and acceptable emergency housing for individuals who have nowhere else to go.”

Ms Hall and her daughter have been proven one other emergency flat by the council throughout this time that was so unhealthy it made her daughter “burst into tears.”

“It was disgusting,” she stated, explaining that the partitions have been damp and mouldy, whereas the flat was soiled and stunk of cigarette smoke.

“Having to maneuver into emergency lodging isn’t a super state of affairs,” stated Ms Williams of BHCC.

BHCC has just lately agreed a pilot scheme to enhance the usual of assist for individuals dwelling in emergency lodging.

Ms Williams stated “no-fault” evictions have been “virtually all the time pointless” and are a significant reason behind homelessness.

Eleanor Bateman, senior campaigns and public affairs officer on the National Residential Landlords Association, stated there are circumstances by which landlords “legitimately” want to realize possession of a property and this requires a “well timed mechanism”.

Ms Hall says she lastly discovered a home via a letting agent in Brighton, however needed to pay six months hire up entrance, which she funded via her pupil mortgage and housing profit.

An MHCLG spokesperson stated: “The housing disaster is a nationwide scandal and it’s affecting far too many individuals throughout the nation, together with in Brighton.”

They stated the federal government was “boosting housing provide, together with the most important improve in social properties in a era”.