Disabled mum and her son face homelessness after being served 'no fault' eviction notice

Wheelchair-bound Helena Mace has been unable to find a property without steps

A mum and her three-year old son have been told to get out of their home after being hit by a ‘no fault’ eviction notice.

Wheelchair-bound Helena Mace has been unable to find a property without steps as the date for her to vacate the property arrives today. It means both both she and her young son face homeless after they were hit by a “no fault” eviction. The mum, who lives with her three-year-old was given two months to get out of their £825-a-month bungalow in Staffordshire by Friday, April 12.

StaffordshireLive reports Helena, 32, said: “I’m a full-time wheelchair user, I’ve got cerebral palsy, and I’ve got an autoimmune disease, a blood disorder. This home is perfect because there’s completely level access, widened door frames, a very large driveway which isn’t on an incline, and it has a built-in shower with a shower seat. I can’t tell you how grateful I was to find this place. My son has a number of health issues. He has a cardiac condition, he’s asthmatic, and on the autism spectrum.”

Landlords have a legal right to issue a Section 21 notice to any tenant. The process is knowns as a ‘no fault’ eviction because the landlord does not have to give a reason why they want their property back. It comes as the Government has pledged to abolish ‘no fault’ evictions by January 2025. Helena has now joined the calls for these types of evictions to be outlawed immediately.

She added: “They need to be stopped somehow. It should not be allowed to happen. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. There is nowhere else for us two to go. We’ve got family and friends, but their properties are unsuitable as they’ve got steps. We’re on the social housing list but because of our requirements, they’ve got nothing to offer us. I don’t know where we’re going to go or what we’re going to do.”

The Mirror reported a ban on evicting tenants from their homes without cause will come in before the general election. Michael Gove, Housing Secretary made the guarantee amid fears the Tories were intending to junk their commitments to no-fault evictions after repeated delays. The Conservatives have been promising to end so-called section 21 evictions since April 2019 – and included it as a pledge in the 2019 manifesto.

Mr Gove agreed to delay the ban in October to appease Tory rebels threatening to vote against his Renters Reform Bill, some of whom are landlords themselves. He argued it would only come into action when the backlog of court cases have eased. But he then shifted his stance, insisting that the ban would be enacted before voters head to the polls. Asked if action could be guaranteed before the election, Mr Gove told BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “Yes. We have a bill, it’s gone through its stages in the House of Commons and that bill does a number of things to help people in the private sector, including ending no fault evictions.”