Lambeth council is currently is evicting 400 private residents from council owned homes. 150 households are being evicted via Section 21 notices and misinformation. Residents are being told their fixed term contracts cannot be renewed and do not go into rolling contracts. However this is not correct and is scaring residents into leaving when they do not have to. It also risks them being found intentionally homeless when they approach the local council for help. The estates affected are Fenwick, Central Hill, Cressingham Gardens, Westbury, Lambeth South 

Lambeth already has over 700 empty properties. They claim they want to evict residents so they can use the freshly emptied properties as temporary accommodation for people who are homeless and who the council has to help. However, they have not filled the 700 vacant properties many of which have been empty for over a year and which are sites of Anti-Social Behaviour including raves.

Lambeth will legally owe a duty to house at least some of the people they make homeless, such as people likely to be found priority need. Many families have children in schools, have built a life in their community, others moved into unfurnished buildings and paid for all the furniture only to be told a week later they would need to leave. Lambeth has not done an Equality Impact Assessment or even told its councillors of the evictions.

Lambeth is stating they have not given out S21 eviction notices when this is not true. Lambeth have a legal obligation to provide housing advice and assistance yet are giving misleading or incorrect information, and are evicting people who will be unable to afford to continue to live in Lambeth and possibly not even London. Lambeth is campaigning against the use of S21 evictions yet is using them.

We are asking for

• Lambeth to immediately halt the s21 evictions
• Lambeth to immediately halt any eviction process including the misleading information on non-renewal of contract
• Lambeth to provide compensation to affected residents especially those who have already moved due to the pressure.
• Lamebth to fill any void properties BEFORE evicting residents
• Lambeth to conduct a full equalities impact assessment and an analysis at any original household level
• Lambeth to consult widely on the decision to move so many people off the estates
• Lambeth to hold an urgent public meeting on each estate to address questions and concerns
• Lambeth to treat private renters with the respect it treats other residents
• If found to have acted illegally or against its own standards, a full inquiry to be made