Residents of Leeds City Council ALMO managed properties (Council houses)
Are claiming they have been trapped in to an automatic eviction system by the council and have no choice but to face eviction.
Residents of Leeds City Council ALMO managed properties (Council houses)
Are claiming they have been trapped in to an automatic eviction system by the council and have no choice but to face eviction.
Under the councils rules, tenants are forbidden from making mutual exchanges with other tenants if they have ANY rent arrears.
Victims of the CONDEM Coalition bedroom tax say this is preventing them downsizing in to smaller homes and left them trapped in to a debt spiral.
The Bedroom tax was brought in on the pretence it will encourage residents to swap homes that are too big for their allocations with other residents in homes deemed too small for allocations.
But Leeds Council are refusing to back down on the “No rent arrears” policy.
The policy basically means that all communication is cut off with tenants who have any kind of rent arrears until they are cleared.
Victims of the bedroom tax have become trapped in to a vicious petty spiral of debt with no sympathy from the landlord.
One case I am only referring to as mother “Tracey” from South Leeds Aire valley homes has told me how she has become trapped in a spiral of debt with the council refusing to budge.
She set up a mutual exchange with a neighbour so she could swap her three bedroom home with a two bedroom and avoid the bedroom tax.
Incompetence by officials in misplacing her paper work 3 times or failing to enter it on to IT systems has resulted in her missing the bedroom tax deadlines and she now has rent arrears piling up .
As a result Aire valley homes have now told her they will not allow her the mutual exchange until she can clear the arrears despite proven medical history of depressive illness following the death of her partner and bread winner from Leukaemia.
She has been served the first notice of eviction warning and faces eviction if she can not clear the arrears.
All protest call out will be issued to legally obstruct what is expected to be Leeds first eviction on to the street of a vulnerable person due to the Bedroom tax.
Tracey and her son has nowhere to go or no savings for a bond on a private rent.
Her situation is entirely of the making of incompetent officials and her housing debt would not exists had officials done what they are paid to do on time and approve her mutual exchange.
They know who they are, they know what they are doing, well now the spotlight is upon them.
You will not be allowed to quietly evict Tracey, your pig headed approach and rent arrears policy has created this problem in the first place.
Shame upon you Aire Valley homes.