A BURST toilet pipe, leaking ceilings and cracked walls led to a family warning their house was on the verge of collapse – but after raising the issues they were told they were being evicted.
Morag Meldrum, from Darlington, and her two teenage daughters have seen their requests for repairs go unanswered and have now been served an eviction notice with no explanation.
A toilet in the house, on Harewood Hill, has been broken since March after the exit pipe was cracked, leading to sewage water leaking through into the kitchen.
Requests for new taps after a leak and repairs to damage to her daughter’s bedroom wall have all gone unanswered, according to Ms Meldrum.
The house has fallen into such a bad condition because of a lack of investment and care, she claimed as she last night warned others of the dangers eviction notices can pose on renters.
A "Section 21" no-fault eviction allows landlords to evict a tenant without having to give a reason.
The Government promised to end such notices in 2019, and charities are calling on it to honour its pledge by committing to a Renters’ Reform Bill this spring.
The 53-year-old believes her family is being evicted simply because she asked her landlady for repair work to be arranged.
Ms Meldrum told The Northern Echo: “My daughter’s bedroom ceiling was boarded up nearly a year ago. The wall has got really bad damp, but she kept ignoring it.
“I flushed the toilet and it flushed through into the kitchen. I was aware it was an old house and it needed work but not to this extent.”
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Ms Meldrum has spent hundreds of pounds from her own pocket to renovate the house and its garden, which is classed as a listed building.
She said: “We had a pact that I would maintain the property for her but it’s just turned sour and she’s ignored me."
The only way the mother-of-two said she can challenge the eviction is to take it to court, but that is too costly a risk.
After seeing a dramatic increase in her rent over the winter, Ms Meldrum recalled the moment she was made homeless.
She said: “I received the termination through the post and no other communication whatsoever. It’s quite shocking and you feel like you’ve done something wrong.
“I have two teenage daughters who have exams in May and we have to move out by May 26. I requested an extension to give me more time but my email has been ignored.”
The number of privately renting households at risk of becoming homeless after being served a so-called “no-fault” eviction notice is up by more than a third from before the coronavirus pandemic, figures show.
Her own experience has allowed Ms Meldrum to learn more about the life-changing powers landlords can impose on their tenants overnight.
She said: “When you complain about maintenance they just throw you out and they do a botch job of fixing it and get the next tenant in.
“The blame is usually on bad tenants. Bad landlords aren’t given enough air.”
Ms Meldrum has found alternative accommodation since she received the eviction notice but has not heard from her landlady.
The landlady and estate agent for the property declined to comment when contacted by The Northern Echo.
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