Pensioner faces eviction from his 67-year-old home by the town hall for the third time

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A pensioner faces eviction from the home has lived for 67 years in a new battle with a local council. Ken May, 68, received a third eviction notice after the previous one court battles in 2022 and 2019.

Gateshead City Council has disagreed with the Homeowner who grew up in the house where he still resides. The conditions and safety of May’s home have been called into question as he could force him to leave the Wardley council house in which he has lived since November 1955 as early as next week, it reports. ChronicleLive.

A court order last year allowed the retiree to stay while he reconnected his home to the power grid after previously using a gasoline-powered generator. He had to allow municipal workers to repair and rewire his home for eight weeks as he was placed in temporary accommodation.

Annual safety inspections were also part of the deal. But on April 5 of this year, the man received a letter from the council informing him of scheduled property inspections every three months, which he believes is a violation of the court order signed in August.

The letter, according to ChronicleLive, stated: “I can confirm that the reason inspections are necessary is due to ongoing concerns about the safety of you, your neighbors and anyone visiting the area, based on a history of yours. interfering with the electrical supply and allowing the condition of your property to deteriorate to a substandard condition and causing a potential hazard to yourself and others.

“As your Landlord, Gateshead Council have made significant repairs to the property to address these issues and you have the right to request access for inspections to ensure this does not happen again under the terms of your Lease Agreement.”

It was reported that he sent an email in response and refused the right to conduct such inspections. He denies having disturbed the electricity supply to his home and claims to have left everything as it was left by the council once the repair work was completed.

He told ChronicleLive: “I’ve done absolutely nothing. All I’ve done is plug things in. The court order requires me to give access to annual security checks and I’m complying with them.”

“I haven’t done anything to the electricity. The new wiring is exactly as they left it. If Gateshead Council think I’ve tampered with it, they must present that evidence in court. They won’t because they don’t have evidence of tampering.”

“The house is just as they left it, all my things are still in boxes, so they are responsible for the state of the house.”

On May 4, she received her most recent eviction notice. And he added: “Can you imagine fighting for your rights against the council all this time?

“Can you imagine living with the permanent threat of homelessness, away from your home of 67 years?”

He affirms that he intends to launch an appeal to avoid the eviction. He maintains that the council has no right to repossess his house and that an inspection to remove asbestos from the walls of his house last year was useless because he claimed he did not have asbestos.

A Gateshead City Council spokesperson said: “Gateshead City Council was awarded a writ of absolute possession in this case, as they recognized the importance of keeping our property and residents safe, and held Mr May responsible for allowing access for inspections. periodic.

“Unfortunately, Mr. May has persistently refused to give us access to his home and is therefore in breach of court order and his Lease Agreement. We have therefore had no choice but to regretfully activate an eviction order.” , an absolute warrant for possession of the property having been granted after a successful legal trial.

“The eviction is scheduled for next Thursday, May 25. The health and safety of our tenants are paramount, and we continue to work with Mr. May and other relevant agencies to resolve this matter. We have also advised Mr. May to seek independent advice.”

A previous eviction notice in 2019 was settled after the council raised concerns about the mess inside her home.

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