On the St. James estate in South Bermondsey, 172 households face unaffordable rent rises – de-facto eviction notices. 50 households have received actual Section 21 no-fault eviction notices; most were served at 8.30 pm on the day before no-fault evictions were outlawed.
The reason that residents are being forced out is that converting their homes into Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMOs) would significantly increase the income for the owners. The intensity of the housing crisis means that the demand for temporary accommodation far outstrips supply, with the Home Office, councils and other agencies all competing for scarce temporary accommodations. HMOs are a state-funded cash machine.
Our local councillor Andy Bates has written another great piece about the estate, this time for Compass. Read the whole piece here:
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