An elderly man with serious health problems and his wife are set to be made homeless in days after being served a ‘no-fault’ eviction notice.
Paul Minns, aged 76, and his wife Susan, 73, have lived in their home in Bilston Terrace, Llanbadarn Fawr, for 15 years but are set to be forced onto the streets in little more than 48 hours.
Well-known Mr Minns has run the Downies Vaults pub in the town centre and the Gogerddan Arms nearer his home during the 25 years he’s been an Aberystwyth resident.
Now he’s recovering from a triple heart bypass and has been suffering from repeated breathing difficulties and cardiovascular issues.
The couple – who have been married for 50 years – saw their lives turned upside down after the landlord served them with a Section 21 eviction notice in September.
Since then, they’ve been appealing for support from Ceredigion County Council and numerous charities, and are on now the list for social housing – though Mr Minns has bemoaned the lack of help they’ve received.
Section 21 notices are also known as ‘no-fault’ evictions where the landlord isn’t required to give a reason to justify the move. Usually, tenants are afforded only a few months to vacate their properties.
Mr Minns, who was born in Gloucester, told the Cambrian News: “According to the notice we’ll be homeless on Thursday (December 1).
“But we don’t know where to go so we’ll just sit tight and hope and see what happens.
“I’m 76 years of age so it’s not exactly doing my health any good all this. It’s happening all over the UK it seems.
“I haven’t seen or heard from the landlord since. We’ve known them for many years.
“People lack humanity now. We’re only on our basic pensions. We don’t have much.
“We’ve never been in arrears with the rent – it’s paid by direct debit.
“The house hasn’t even got an energy reading – it’s cold, damp, there’s moisture and mould.
“So, to actually sell it you’d have to spend a fortune.
“I’ve been sent to the hospital twice in the last month for breathing problems and I’ve had a CT scan last week, so I’m waiting for those results.
“We’ve been looking for support and we keep getting fobbed off or get no reply. We started looking for a place to go immediately.
“I’ve emailed the council countless times but they don’t help me.
“They say, ‘look at the private rental sector’ - but most of those are HMOs (houses in multiple occupation) for students.
“We haven’t heard anything yet about whether we can get something with a housing association.
“If I was a youngster I wouldn’t mind, I’d just pack up and find somewhere new - but at my age and my wife’s age, it’s not very good.
“We don’t want to go. This is our home.”
No-fault evictions have increased by 76 per cent on last year, government data for the period between April and June shows.
Charities and political parties are calling for reform to the private renting sector which would outlaw evictions of this kind.
A Ceredigion County Council spokesperson said: “We would not allow an individual or a group of people to become street homeless.
“A Housing Options Officer will work with an individual or a group of people and explain and support with any given situation.”
The Cambrian News has also contacted Philip Evans Estates which served the notice on behalf of the landlord.