• ON May 31 the government’s eviction ban came to an end and, given that over a third of the borough’s households rent privately, this could have a big impact here in Camden.

London Councils, which represents London’s 32 boroughs and the City of London, has said that the capital could be facing a summer “wave of homelessness” because of this combined with the high number of job losses and the lack of clarity over homelessness funding.

So if you receive something called a “section 21 notice”, you need immediately to do three things:

– read any paperwork sent to you by your landlord or the court;

– get some help and advice; and

– check if the eviction your landlord is attempting is actually legal and they have complied fully with the law.

While the number of legal evictions that are being processed through the court system is known, we suspect the number of illegal evictions being attempted by private landlords could be even higher.

If your landlord tries to evict you by letter, email, text, a phone call or verbally then it is illegal and, again, you need to get some help and advice as soon as possible.

Even if your landlord tries to evict you using an official “section 21 notice”, they could be doing this illegally in certain circumstances, for example, if the notice has been incorrectly completed; if your deposit has not been protected in a government scheme; if your home needs to be licensed by Camden Council; or no gas safety certificate has been provided.

It is always worth checking, as many landlords know they are breaking the law but think they are unlikely to get caught, or simply do not know what they are doing.

We can be contacted by email: admin@cfpt.org.uk, by phone: 020 7383 0151 or go to our website for more information: www.cfpt.org.uk.

ROBERT TAYLOR
Organiser
Camden Federation of Private Tenants