Bristol is suffering from a chronic housing shortage and now councils are advising tenants to stay in rented homes until bailiffs force them to leave, one landlord has claimed.
Zak Roby is facing thousands of pounds worth of legal bills after South Gloucestershire Council allegedly told his tenant to stay in his flat until bailiffs came around to forcibly remove her.
South Gloucestershire Council has refuted the claims and said it would never advise a tenant to wait for the bailiffs.
The single father of two, who wants to sell his apartment on Catbrain Lane in Cribbs Causeway, served notice to his female tenant at the end of June and gave her two months to vacate the property.
The 22-year-old woman, who has a 18 month-old child, sought advice from her council case worker, Michael Bamfield, and told Mr Roby the she was advised to stay in the flat for as long as possible until bailiffs came to throw her out.
Incredulous, Mr Roby, contacted Mr Bamfield and claims he was told that it is now council policy to tell tenants to remain in rented apartments for as long as possible as the council cannot help people until they are legally homeless.
The 31-year-old said: “I am just incredibly angry and disappointed in the council. I can’t believe they would issue such appalling advice.
“Not only is it causing me stress, but it is incredibly upsetting for the tenant and her young child to have to wait for the bailiffs and all because they say they cannot find her a home until she is out on the streets. What kind of a system is that?”
Mr Roby has applied to the court for an eviction enforcement notice two months ago, and it is anticipated that the tenant will be removed from the flat within the coming weeks.
He said: “All of this for an extra ten weeks. I mean I could understand if it was a few years, but what is the point in a few weeks? What will have changed for the council in that time?
“Not only are they not thinking about the stress it has caused me, they are not considering the long term impact it is going to have on her life.
“Because I have done everything above board, the court case is a tick box exercise and she is going to be saddled with all of my legal costs, which she can’t afford to pay.
“Plus she will never be able to rent in the private sector again as the county court judgement will mean she will fail any credit checks. So they have basically locked her in to the social housing system for life.”
For Mr Roby the experience has put him off renting out property for life and he fears other landlords may also turn their back on the sector.
“It is a self-perpetuating vicious circle,” he said.
“Landlord are now becoming unwilling to rent to parents or DSS tenants because of the fear that the council will issue this advice and you are unable to ask them to leave you property however honourable your intentions are.”
A South Gloucestershire Council spokesman said: “We can confirm that we are assisting the tenant with her housing situation. We have a duty to provide tenants with accurate housing advice regarding their rights to occupy the property.
“We do not have a ‘blanket policy’ and each applicant’s case is considered on its own merit.
“We do advise clients and landlords that the tenant has legal rights to occupy the property until a possession order is sought. A bailiff warrant has to be applied for by the landlord if the tenant fails to move out at the expiry of the possession order.
“We do not expect a tenant to stay illegally in a property and we would never advise a tenant to ‘stay until the bailiffs arrive at their door’.”
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