Evicted residents Mahlechi Hunte, Marelize Vanzyl, and Daniel Clark

A GROUP of residents say they are facing homelessness after being served eviction notices.

Eighteen tenants at 45-49 Carleton Road have been ordered to leave by landlord Theori Housing, which says it needs to “modernise” the block to bring it up to standards.

Daniel Clark, 35, who grew up in the borough and has rented his Carleton Road flat for just over a year, said: “We rely on this, these are our homes. We can’t go anywhere because there’s nowhere for us to go.

“We literally have to wait to be kicked out by a bailiff for the council to help us.

“For a single person nowadays it’s impossible to find anything [to rent]. We’re all in rooms, tiny rooms because we can’t afford even a one-bedroom flat. What they’ve done to these buildings is just unreal, they’re just doing this to maximise money.”

Mr Clark is challenging his eviction notice, which means he now has to bear the brunt of court fees on top of the risk of losing his home.

Theori is a company that owns the freehold of the buildings and has since begun to remove tenants.

Fifteen flats in the block are being used by Barnet Council to provide people with temporary accommoda­tion, however it says it has no plans to take on the flats of those who are now being evicted.

The residents say they also now face the prospect of being put into tempor­ary accommodation.

Mahlechi Hunte has lived in his flat for three years and is in the same position. He was first issued with a “no-fault” eviction notice, then refused to pay his rent and was served with an eviction notice for that.

He said that if the company wanted to get more money out of tenants that “they could have negotiated with us, but instead they came in hostile”.

“I’ve been told to sit it out and wait for the bailiffs to come,” said Micheal Bennett, who says this will allow him to be classed as officially homeless and therefore receive help from the council.

“It’s stressful, it’s been very stressful. You’re being kicked out of your house, but what can you do? I don’t feel like there’s anyone fighting in my corner for me to stay, so I’m just seeing out my last bit of time here so I’m not optimistic about it.

“I’ve just got to look for another property, but it’s really expensive. For £1,300 I’d be getting less than this. I have to at least match what I’ve got at the moment, and I’m not asking for much. It’s not just moving out, it’s all the costs,” he said.

Mr Bennett lives in a studio flat with a shared bathroom on his floor. He pays £1,126 in rent per month.

The tenants said they felt their properties were in a state of disrepair.

Theori Housing told the Tribune they have asked these residents to vacate “due to the current government mandates urging the modernisation and enhancement of rental properties for safe and habitable conditions”. Theori said they were “unable” to confirm the plans for the newly refurbished units.

A Barnet Council spokesperson said: “Barnet Homes has a block booking of 15 units at this address which are separate from the rest that have been served notice. The 15 people we have placed there will be staying – they haven’t been served notice. We have no plans to take on any of the other units once they have been refurbished.”

A spokesperson from Islington Council said: “We urge residents who have been affected by this eviction to contact us via our website: www.islington.gov.uk/housing/finding-a-home/homelessness/homeless-now”