Our landlord?s debt is to make us homeless

Our landlord?s debt is to make us homeless

7:50pm Saturday 23rd June 2012 in News By Tom Edwards

A DEVASTATED family are set to be thrown out of their home on Monday after the landlord fell ?6,000 behind on mortgage payments.

Margaret and Eddie Tout, of Ronkswood, say they are ?very worried? after bailiffs were instructed to change the locks on their Canterbury Road property.

Despite paying their rent on time the mortgage has fallen badly into arrears, and Halifax made a repossession order in April.

Margaret, aged 51, Eddie, 54, and 22-year-old son Mark say they have nowhere else to go.

Mrs Tout, a housewife and mum-of-four, said: ?We love this house.

?This is our home and we don?t want to leave.

?We first had a letter about six months ago about the house falling into arrears and started to worry.

?But we paid our rent on time each month and were assured by the landlord it was going to be OK.

?But then lawyers acting for the bank contacted us to say we need to leave.

?We?ve been left devastated, we have literally got nowhere to go.

?We?re very stressed. We don?t want to be homeless.?

Drydensfairfax solicitors, the firm representing Halifax, secured the order at Worcester County Court and at the time the family were told they had eight weeks to go.

They have looked at dozens of rented properties but say they cannot afford any as Mark does not work and Eddie, who has arthritis, does 16 hours a week as a roofing surveyor.

Most landlords ask for two or three months? advance rent, money they say they cannot find.

Matt Tout, one of the couple?s other children, said: ?It?s disgusting. They?ve got nowhere to live.?

The locks are to be changed at 11.30am on Monday.

Landlord Noman Aziz, of Wyld?s Lane, Worcester, said: ?They knew months ago this was going to happen, it?s not like they were not warned.

?I told them back in January I was not planning to renew their tenancy agreement past April as I needed to put the rent up due to problems with the arrears ? their payments were not covering the mortgage. It has been difficult.?

The family paid ?40 to try to get the courts to give them a stay of execution on Tuesday, but it was refused.

A Worcester City Council spokesman said: ?We?ve been in touch with the family since January and have suggested a number of housing options to them.

?We will continue to provide appropriate advice and guidance going forward.?

A spokeswoman for Drydensfairfax, representing Halifax, said: ?We cannot discuss individual cases for confidentiality, but we always keep all parties aware of the situation.?

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