The woman is facing eviction from her home in Wilbury Villas, Hove, after being issued with a section 21 notice in November.
The letter gave her and her three elderly cats, Omega, Rango and Tau, only until today, Monday, January 22, to leave the property and find a new place to live.
The 47-year-old, who asked not to be named, had moved to the UK from overseas. She said she had to pay thousands of pounds to provide six months of rent in advance to her letting agent when signing her tenancy in February last year, leaving her practically without any savings.
She said: “I’ve never been in a situation like this before. I’m on my own in a foreign country, I can’t get any form of benefits at all and I have no income at the moment.
“I was completely floored and am at a loss.”
She explained her looming eviction has left her feeling desperate and said: “If it weren’t for my cats, I would kill myself because I just can’t take it anymore.
“I have been going in circles with the links the housing officers [at the council] have given me. I have felt desperate and frightened, trying to hang on to my beloved cats as a reason to push forward.”
Ellen’s situation is far from unique, with many people across the city, county and country facing similar challenges in the private rental sector.
Toby Sedgwick, Brighton branch organiser for the community union Acorn, said: “We’re certainly seeing a massive surge in section 21 eviction notices, with many being served to very vulnerable people, including the elderly and those on benefits, because they simply cannot afford extortionate rent increases.
“We’re also seeing massive increases in ‘rent in advance’ for people without guarantors, specifically migrants and those without UK homeowner parents, up to and including people being forced to pay a whole year in advance.
“It is clear to us that landlords and agents across the city are using the lack of clear rules about rent in advance to discriminate against poorer people and migrants.”
Polly Neate, chief executive of Shelter, said that the roughly 11 million private renters in England have had a “rotten deal” and been left at the mercy of a “broken, insecure and unfair system”.
She said: “Despite the government promising to ban ‘no fault’ evictions nearly five years ago, renters are still living in constant fear of being kicked out of their home for no reason.
“Every day our services hear from families who have had their lives turned upside down by a ‘no fault’ eviction notice dropping through their letter box, leaving them only two months to find a new home.
“If the government plans to keep its promises to renters, then it needs to pass a watertight Renters Reform Bill without caveats or loopholes and set out a clear timeframe of when unfair evictions will be banned.”
Gill Williams, chairwoman of Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing committee said: “We are facing a national housing crisis like no other, and I know this is affecting thousands of local people very badly.
“We work extremely hard to help people avoid becoming homeless and offer accommodation to people in housing need whenever we have a legal duty to do so.
“When people let us know they are at risk of losing their homes, we ask them to make a full homelessness application with appropriate supporting information.
“We also encourage people to seek independent legal advice, particularly in instances where they are having issues with their landlord.
“A significant cause of homelessness is due to evictions from the private rental sector. It is devastating that the government last year chose to drop the commitment to end section 21 no-fault evictions.”
People threatened with homelessness are urged to contact the council’s housing team by completing an online housing form or by calling 01273 294400, followed by option 1.
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