Fw: Green Brighton bedroom tax eviction notices

Tue May 21 23:21:57 BST 2013

Brighton Bedroom Tax Victims Support Group 

May 21st. Contact: jennywren27 at hotmail.co.uk  Tel: m. 07799 846 389

Brighton's Green Council set to evict bedroom tax victims

Less than two weeks after Brighton and Hove City Council's Housing Committee passed an emergency amendment[i] purporting to be a 'no evictions policy' [ii] for bedroom tax victims, a Brighton council tenant bedroom tax victim has received a "Notice of Seeking Possession" warning them that unless they contact the Council immediately "legal proceedings to end your tenancy and repossess your home" will be taken.

All three political parties on the Committee passed the 'no evictions' amendment unanimously. Councillors from all three parties (Green, Labour and Tory) spoke in strong support of it, including Tory Party councillors Mary Mears and Garry Peltzer Dunn, leader of the Tory Group.

The tenant in receipt of that letter was in credit with their overall rent payments till the beginning of bedroom tax liability on April 1st, and their total arrears for the bedroom tax were only £176.78 - that is, less than two weeks full rent[iii]. 

The tenant had appealed against their bedroom tax assessment and has not had any response from the Council so far to their appeal. 

After the tenant received the threatening letter, they phoned the Council's Income Management Team and reminded them that the Council had a 'no evictions' policy. The officer responded that they had "never heard of it."

Tenants who formed a deputation to the May 8th Housing Committee on the bedroom tax were told by a Green councillor, after the passing of the purported 'no evictions' policy, that (paraphrase) "there would be no more threatening letters sent to tenants". 

A Brighton Bedroom Tax Victims Support Group member said "this horrible bullying gives the lie to the Green Party statement boasting that they are the first city in the country to have such a 'no evictions' policy. In fact, it looks like Brighton Council is in the vanguard of councils proceeding towards evictions of some of the most vulnerable people in society. They are thus doing the ConDem coalition's dirty work for them."

Brighton Council's action comes hard on the news that Labour-run South Lanarkshire Council is similarly seeking to evict struggling families out of their homes for bedroom tax arrears.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/bedroom-tax-eviction-nightmare-labour-run-1899977

The letter sent to the tenant is ATTACHED, with identifying details removed.

To contact the Bedroom Tax Support Group: - 

-          Email: jennywren27 at hotmail.co.uk

-          Phone: brighton 620 815

-          Text: 07503 746 052

-          Write: BBTVSG, c/o 4 Beeding Avenue, Hove, BN3 8GS

AN APPEAL

Please can all council or housing association tenants who have had "notice of seeking possession" letters (i.e. "eviction letters") contact us by one of the above means.

PUBLIC MEETING

Hands Off Our Homes / Fight For Our Benefits

A public meeting to build a local group to fight the bedroom tax and other attacks on benefits, and to create a network to support and defend tenants

Speakers from Brighton Benefits Campaign

THURSDAY 6TH JUNE 

7.30pm - 9.30pm

HOLLINGDEAN COMMUNITY CENTRE, 

Thompson Road, Hollingdean, BN1 7BH

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[i] This was an amendment to the substantive resolution attached to the Committee Report.

[ii] Councillor Liz Wakefield, chair of Housing, said, in a press release from Brighton and  Hove Green Party (March 16th 2013) that her proposals would "ensure that no household will be evicted from a Brighton and Hove City Council owned home as a result of 'spare room subsidy' rent arrears accrued solely from that household's inability to pay this unjust bedroom tax"

[iii] Possession can only be sought using the standard legal 'Ground 8' after eight full weeks of rent arrears have been accrued.
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