A 76-year-old man is pleading for help as he faces being evicted in just days from his Ramsgate home of 44 years.
Former builder Noel Glass received a ‘no fault’ eviction and has to be out of his Malborough Road flat by June 1.
The pensioner says he has nowhere to go and has been told by Thanet council that there is no available accommodation for him within Thanet – meaning he will have to go outside of the town where he has lived his entire life.
He said: “I have been down (to the council) but they said there is nothing in Thanet, all they can do is find me accommodation out of Thanet.
“I’ve got nowhere to put my possessions and I am really panicking now, I do not want to leave Thanet. I’m just in a pickle.”
Noel’s flat also came furnished so when he does find alternative accommodation he will have no bed, cooker, fridge or other items. He says he also does not have money for a deposit although he may be able to get help from Thanet council’s discretionary fund.
He said: “They told me to try and find some properties and a friend is helping me. I need to find a one bed flat but it is all very upsetting. I just do not know where to turn and I am finding it extremely hard to pack up my stuff.”
Noel, who has suffered chronic back pain for the last 20 years, says his only comfort is playing on his X Box, adding: “It helps me take my mind off the pain.”
He is hoping someone might come forward with a suitable property.
Thanet council say support is available, including emergency accommodation once a possession order is issued by the court – although this may be outside of the district
A council spokesperson said: ”When a private sector tenant receives a section 21 notice from their landlord, it is really important that they contact the council’s Housing Options service as early as possible for advice and assistance.
“If the notice expires within 56 days, we will support them with a personal housing plan, focused on preventing them from becoming homeless. This might involve negotiating with their existing landlord or providing help with rent-in-advance or deposits so that they are able to find a new home.
“When the notice expires, tenants are still protected from eviction until a possession order is issued by the courts. The priority is to prevent cases from reaching this stage, but if they do and emergency accommodation is needed this may need to be out of the Thanet area, depending on what is available at that time.”
The spokesperson added: “In terms of accommodation for single people, we do have one bed flats in our portfolio and when they become available they are let to households from the housing register. This would include any homeless households on the register.”
New regulations, such as those requiring higher ratings on Energy Performance Certificates, are seeing increasing numbers of landlords sell up. This is, in part, due to the costs of making sure a property EPC ratings are a C instead of D or E.
Earlier this year Thanet council said there had been an increase in demand for social housing, particularly due to the impact of the covid pandemic. Reasons for the need often include relationship and family breakdowns, growing pressures on the private rented sector and increased unemployment which has had a significant impact on people being able to retain accommodation.
Thanet has some 1,638 families on the housing register with an average wait of three years. In February there were 160 households in temporary accommodation and 82 households placed out of the area.
Demand is rising with Thanet council saying an increase in notices to quit being served since October 2021 is likely due to factors including increasing property prices, changes to tax rules, the increase in the conversion of rental accommodation into holiday rental properties and the looming abolition of ‘no fault eviction’ Section 21 notices expected later this year.
Get help
If you are at risk of homelessness find advice on Thanet council’s website here and here
What games does noel play on the x box ?
sarcastic twat.
This is exact example of the capitalist help for people. Bravoo. Well done.
This is someone’s life Frank. You are obviously a sad pathetic man and hopefully you’ll never find yourself homeless,
IF he is evicted, the Council HAVE to find him a home. They can’t act until eviction has taken place. It’s the Law.
Has to be out by June 1st
What a poorly written article,. with no research.
Doesn’t mention any attempt to get the reason for the eviction or speak with the Landlord.
Nor does it seek to provide the status of council house provision, numbers on the waiting list etc
It’s a no fault eviction (the article says that). The chap’s reason for publicity is to try and find a new home not to shame his landlord. He is not asking to go on the council waiting list, he is asking for help to get a new home or for temporary accommodation in Thanet before June 1. I took in mind his health and age and wishes.
As you can see, link below, I do talk to landlords.
But, yes, I think it is valid to include some of the information that I have in the below article about increasing no fault evictions and why so I will add it in. Thanks for your interest.
https://theisleofthanetnews.com/2022/02/09/twelve-families-at-godwin-road-flats-among-those-served-eviction-notices-as-new-regulations-prompt-more-and-more-landlords-to-sell/
Hi Kathy , why were my comments removed?
Thank you Kathy, you’ve now got to the bottom of the reason for the eviction. Its Govt’s infatuation with NetZero and also the plethora of other regulations that make Private renting unviable.
Inflict pain on Landlords and its the tenants who feel it !
Well said
No they don’t HAVE to rehouse..they will Just put him on the waiting list to bid like everyone else.but if he leaves before a bailiff date they say he made himself homeless.. Crazy
I not fully understand the law, but I know of someone who had the same problem.
They refused to move, stopped paying the rent, it took nine Months and three court actions paid for by the landlord .
Think a notice to quit has to be handed to the tenant and not posted.
My friend was a good tenant for 30 years paid rent etc but as his landlord played up so did he.
Any notice that comes by post , read and bin it, do not answer door to anyone not even a child as once its “handed” its taken as received .
After 44 years the furniture would be no good.
My advice would be , you want me out , you pay me or spend your money on court costs.
You are exactly the reason that there is a shortage of rental properties. What a sorry life you must lead.
Your wrong Gru, the reasons why there is not any low rental accommodation is down to Margaret Thatcher! She made it possible for tenants to buy their council homes, at a large discount, but didn’t allow councils to build more homes with the money they received to replace them! The nation needs another massive council house building programme, because the private sector has failed to provide decent low cost housing, especially for the elderly, disabled, or people on low incomes!
Allowing tenants to purchase their council home was first proposed by labour in 1959 as part of their manifesto. See last paragraph of the housing section.
http://www.labour-party.org.uk/manifestos/1959/1959-labour-manifesto.shtml
So perhaps not a tory inspired plot of evil in its entirety
Dumpton you are spot on thatcher sold this country down the river . What I like to know is what happened to all the money from the houses plus the private sector are to blame because they don’t take any body on benefits. I love my country but I am ashamed of it at the same time.
Not the full story about landlords not wanting to take anyone one benefits.
Firstly, look at the way the Govt designed the Universal Credit system, – its opposed to the private rental market, in that it will only pay benefit in ARREARS. try going into the supermarket and asking if you can take groceries and pay AFTER you’ve eaten them !
Secondly, the level of Housing benefit has been frozen and doesn’t meet market rent.
Thirdly, the DWP are incredibly difficult and unhelpful to deal with when landlords try to communicate with them over missed benefit payments, which –
Fourthly, DWP insist is paid to the tenant, not direct to the landlord.
There are plenty of Landlords who have a Buy to Let Mortgage using Housing Benefit to help pay for it! I don’t understand why my taxes are being used to help pay someone else’s mortgage! I know someone who was evicted from his home he rented for years, just before last Christmas, when he was 89 years old!
Dumpton, why are your taxes used to support people in social housing? Look deep enough and you’ll find that private landlords are much cheaper to the tax payer in respect of providing housing than the social providers.
A top tip!
Thank you. What has happened here a 76 year old man has been paying rent for the past 44 years. I doubt if the landlord ever refused the rent, like don’t give me any for a couple of Months mate, now its a case of bog off I don’t need you anymore , go live on the streets I don’t care.
Well my advice would be f**k you , ive lined your pockets for 44 years , now I want ???? K to enable me to find a new home , you pay up and i go easy , if not it will cost you more and they will have to carry me out of my home.
What a ridicules sense of reasoning you have. Renting doesn’t give you lifetime right to remain. If you rent you should be well aware that you could lose your home if the landlord needs to sell up, which is their right. You don’t know the reason behind the no fault eviction but it might be after 44 years they no longer want the responsibilities. There’s a shortage of rented accommodation and if tenants took your view there would be less.
Well said Anne. Many private landlords use the rent to top up the low pensions they get, as it’s better than 0.1% interest from the banks. The government constantly change regulations to make it less profitable, so they need to sell up to live.
This is a all to common situation people are finding them selves in unfortunately it’s getting worse in Thanet as House prices rise and Rental property rises. Plus all the new houses being built but not for the Local people they are priced out of the Market. More should be done to Build more social housing. There is a shortage of one bedroom social housing that down to local planing. We don’t need large houses there are plenty we have older people living in large houses that would love to down size but can’t.
I had this myself on a council exchange, I wanted to downsize from a 3 bed house , it took me two years because smaller properties were not available so was still having to pay bedroom tax and nothing I could do about it.
Trouble with building houses now is they build as many as they can get into a small space.
It’s not widely known that lots of new regulation is coming in to the private Rented Sector . Many rental properties are Victorian Edwardian and it’s not always realistic to bring them up to the proposed new standards . These changes are expensive . Many landlords can’t afford to pay for up grades . This means they sell an give tenants notice. Not sure if that’s case hear ?
The UK population is increasing at a rapid rate, largely due to immigration, with the current population of 65 million predicted to rise to 85 million by the middle of this century. It would require building the equivalent of a new Birmingham every two years to accommodate this growth and is clearly an impossibility. Hence, housing problems can only get far worse. Sad but true!
There is accommodation available, and financial help.
It’s the Tory government that could change the law to give protection to long term tenants, but they prefer to support the landlord.
So the landlord is at fault in your opinion despite providing a home for 44 years? It would be fair to assume that the landlord is no spring chicken and could well be older than the tenant. Perhaps the landlord wants to retire, needs to pay care fees, feels that the investment to improve the property to proposed energy efficiency levels is unaffordable at their age, a myriad of possible reasons for wanting the property back.
The tenants plight is due to the failure of housing provision over decades , the private rented sector is seen as unwanted and has been discouraged, had it been allowed to flourish as it has for the last 30 odd years there may well have been more housing options for renters seeking accomodation.
I’m agreeing with the point about social housing and not bringing down the housing waiting list.
Some company might help him… Options… None
The problem is that he has to rely in private landlords (who, because they are not philanthropists, rent out houses to make money). Social housing was abandoned by Thatcher decades ago, and no government since has seen fit to change the situation.
This place is Noel’s home, and has been for 44 years. The notion that a landlord can boot out a long-standing tenant just so they can improve their financial position means that the private landlord model is broken.
Does it not cross your mind for a moment that having been his landlord for 44 years that said landlord does this with no good reason? Noel would have received 2 months notice which expires on 1st June. But the council will tell him to remain until the courts grant a possession order which could take a good while, the council does this to stop tenants asking their landlords to issue possession notices in order to get council help ( and hopefully a council property) more quickly than they otherwise could. Plus it kicks the can down the road for the council. In the meantime the landlord has to go through the courts to gain possession an absurd game. As a result landlords factor in legal costs into their rents for when the day comes that they meed to take legal action.
The private rented sector has the possession procerdures it does in order to encourage landlords to invest, the private sector provides about 4 million homes and has a tenant satisfaction rate higher than the similar lsized social sector. The private sector not only provides better accomodation it does so at lower cost than the social sector which is propped up by central and local government funding and doesn’t pay tax.
A freedom of information request to kent police for cliftonville west showed that social rented accomodation had twice the amount of crime than private rented property ( on a per household weighted basis)
The social rented sector has evicted more tenants than the private rented sector in the last 20 years. On a huge number of points private rented accomodation out performs the social rented sector. Just imagine the outcry if Grenfell had been privately owned rather than social housing that had never complied with fire regulation from the day it’d been built.
Perhaps one of those people who want a Ukrainian refugee in their home can find space for this poor chap instead?
The difference being that Noel is not in mortal peril, in danger of being bombed to bits or machine gunned to pieces, having watched his wife and daughter being raped.
Well said.
This gentleman would be offered sheltered housing and could have accessed this from 65 yrs old.
This would have been the best solution for him and would have given him a choice on area he could live.
He could still be offered this solution prior to eviction date.
Well said!
Oops sorry Andrew, I didn’t realise that you knew this man personally and was aware of all his past experiences. My sincere apologies.
Nice to see the bigots are alive and well
Thats all down to the allocation of housing resources etc being done on a needs based basis , the whole time Noel has a roof over his head he’s way down the list of those likely to get help. Once he’s homeless he goes right up the list , but being a single male and no dependant children means he’s way off the top.
Maybe to increase noels chances if he meets a lady friend make her pregnant has a baby then this might increase his chance ?? Lots of women do this to get flats / houses ..
Bigotry knows no bounds. Let’s use this unfortunate man’s situation to stir up gate against women, girls and refugees fleeing conflict. Anyone else you woukd like to rake aim at?
Leave his gate and rake alone!
His chances of being rehoused by TDC in Thanet would be no greater and no less, irrespective of his domestic circumstances. If there are no homes available to rent, there are no homes to rent.
I knew somebody would make “if he was an immigrant” comment. Racist and uninformed.
Quite so.
There are many homeless refugees. They don’t get benefits, just tokens for particular food shops which may be miles from where they actually live.
Try an over night stay in Napier barracks. That’s where refugees are housed
44 years, could have paid his own mortgage almost twice over, instead he’s paid someone else’s off and 19 years additional on top of it, with nothing to show for it, complete madness. This is the problem with renting, no matter how long, how good at paying the rent you are the legal owner of the property can kick you out.
For “He will have a full medical , food bought to him and rushed to a b n b before tea time”
Read “He will have a full medical , food bought to him and rushed to Rwanda before tea time.”
Congrats ,Paul. You managed to get in an anti-immigrant comment and explanation at number 7 in the list of comments. I’m surprised it didn’t come earlier!
Which immigrants did you have in mind? The majority who come here to work, having found their own job and then sorted out their accommodation without any state help?
If somebody arrives from, say, Belgium or Australia , without any job, money or address ,they get no help at all. The same applies to anyone else arriving from all over the world. In fact, they may well be denied entry as they may lack the necessary paperwork. A work visa, for example.
Just about the only way of getting into Britain , and THEN getting any help, is to risk your life on an open boat in the Channel and then applying for asylum.
THEN you may get 2/3rds of standard Benefits and have to live where you are sent(even Rwanda!)
And you will not be allowed to work , even if you have much-needed skills and would be willing to take any job available.
Mr Glass is in a very difficult position because he needs a smaller, rented flat in Thanet. But successive governments have declined to build the necessary accommodation for years, deceiving themselves (and us!) that the “free, private market” will provide anything that we might need.
Mr Glass is the victim of the prevailing neglect of the entire population ,including the small number of refugees who manage to get across the Channel.
How can such neglect of the people’s needs for homes be allowed to continue, we ask? Possibly because a lot of voters prefer to support Parties that blame immigrants for every problem, and, when they get into power, they have a “free card” NOT to do anything practical. After all, when their neglect becomes obvious to all, they can start to blame immigrants again. And get elected all over again!
This is the problem with private renting. This is obviously never your house no matter how long it’s been your home and you can be asked to leave at any time. After all these years the owner has probably died or is elderly themselves and need to change their arrangements. We should never have encouraged private renting on such a large scale, it has caused huge problems in the housing market alone.
This may be the case , the owner has died. Being self employed for over 40 years , this happens a lot , whoever owns the property now just wants the money.
I have seen the “for sale” board go up and the skip outside before the funeral.
How can this be ?? Upsetting and stressing out a gentleman off 76 years of age. He needs sheltered housing in the area where he has lived for 44 years. Moving him away from all he knows is cruel and a disgrace. What the hell is happening ? It’s 2022. He needs help. The weak and vulnerable are always targeted. Could be one of our parents next.
In this case I think if noel is offered anything even outside thanet he should take it .. he can take his xbox with him so at least that will be the same in his life .. I’m sure he will make new friends .. maybe join some local clubs .. when one door closes another opens ..
If he’s been there continuously since 1978 then he would be on a protected tenancy and Section 21 wouldn’t apply. It only applies to tenancies from 1988 onwards. Did Thanet Council not mention that to him??
Is it TDC’s role to dish out legal advice?
They tell tenants to ignore a legal possession notice and await the court order , so the council already gives legal advice. In addition once a tenant approaches tdc landlord/tenant liason dept so long as they have been issued a valid Sec.21 , it must be said the council is pretty proactive at trying to maintain a tenancy ( not unusual for the council to pay arrears if this is the source of the problem, in the past they have also gifted deposits to tenants looking to secure a property)if disrepair is involved the tenant will be informed of their rights and council will offer to inspect the property. Where the council is unable to assist they’ll direct the tenant to an appropriate agency.
Maybe if there were not so many Air BnBs there would be more homes for rent.
Again this is partly a result of all the additional legislation placed on the private rented sector, much of it can be avoided by going the air bnb route. Just as there is a rise of traditional lodgings, a rented room in someones home has few of the requirements a rented property would.
It is shocking that a 76 year old person could be facing homelessness through no fault of his own. Its as if he has been discarded by society and left to die, with no help from the establishment.
What has happened to our humanity? It’s shameful the way British treat vulnerable people like Noel.
Noel is no more or less vulnerable than most people living in privately rented accommodation these days.
No matter how exemplary a tenant you are you can be chucked out of your home on the whim of the landlord.
This situation if you widen the lens and take a helicopter view will only get worst if we don’t do something about climate change.. if the sea levels rise .. low land will be under water in other parts of the world then the rich countries will have to house the peolpe displaced … so by doing a bit will help the cause .. save the thanet ..
The Reason behind this poor man having to leave his home, is Bojo ( or rather Carrie’s ) infatuation with NetZero and not realising that many of the countries housing is incapable of meeting such energy improvements within anything like a reasonable, or sometimes – any budget.
Apply such stringent energy efficiency to Rental properties only is going to massively impact Tenants, and its only just begun. !!!
The Reason behind this poor man having to leave his home, is Bojo ( or rather Carrie’s ) infatuation with NetZero and not realising that many of the countries housing is incapable of meeting such energy improvements within anything like a reasonable, or sometimes – any budget.
Apply such stringent energy efficiency to Rental properties only is going to massively impact Tenants, and its only just begun. !!!
Energy efficiency will save the thanet / planet ..
Re – maybe if there wasn’t so many Air B’n B’s there’d be more property for rent.
Maybe if there was less assault – Taxation and punitive regulation on Private landlords, there’d be more property for rent.
This Gentleman should get legal advice because if he has been in the property for 44 years he could well be a regulated tenant and so cannot be evicted using s21. They would need all facts. Or why not try someone like Shelter who may give free advice
Re – ” no matter how good a tenant, you can be chucked out on a whim by a landlord !! ”
Catch yourself on man. That’s akin to shops turning good customers away. the only clientele shops turn away are Shop Lifters – same for landlords, who are in the business of providing a service for rent. If rent is being paid and property looked after – happy days, that’s all landlords want.
Dont waste your time listening to promises made by Thanet housing officers or homeless charities. They didn’t help me at all when I was in a similar situation.
Noel should try my landlord, AMT(SE) based at Sandgate. They helped me find a nice flat that I could afford.
The article says nothing about the reason for the eviction after 44 years the landlord may be in poor health or dead by now
With property lived in all that time it probably not up to the new incoming property requirements would cost too much or unaffordable for the new owners
It’s easy to blame landlords for lack off housing
Successive governments have allowed the sale off council houses and not replaced the stock blame the landlords seems to be a good and popular response
2015 Osborne brought out section 24 to tax landlords which effectively means you can’t take away your interest only mortgage from rent recieved
HMRC wants taxation from the rental amount meaning landlord with a mortgage ( minus 20%) has to pay an 80% off mortgage plus tax off the rent the figures in many cases leaves the landlord having to pay out off their own money the difference plus all the new regulation costs
That’s not taking into accounts maintenance and repairs
Blame the landlord if they wish to sell lots off rhetoric not enough housing for first time buyers
From here on in there will be a steady stream off properties for them to buy
Greedy landlords evicting tenants for holiday letting
First ask can they afford to be landlord any longer what were their costs when houses came back trashed and needed to be done all over again for the next tenant how many times has the landlord done this for each property how old is the landlord now were things different when deciding to become landlord in first place
will the next government be a labour one and commrade John Mc Donnell suggestion at last election tenants buying the house at huge discount from the landlord
the conservative government are already thinking about this with housing associations in England
if landlord has more than 1 property can they sell them all at once can they afford to with mortgages to pay maybe if they did holiday letting is it easier to sell than with a tenant in situ
Landlords are not rich people why not go after the low hanging fruit don’t you think landlords are fed up with the rhetoric against them
Absolutely well said Fiona, Look at our web site http://www.PossessionFriend.uk and I think you’ll see we’re ‘speaking the same language’ ‘-)
Well said!