A West London council tenant who says she has invested £30,000 in refurbishing her home has been informed that she and her son may have to vacate the property because renewing the lease is deemed too costly.
Tenants Face Uncertainty
Gulala Abdullah, 48, and her 18-year-old son Marcus are among 27 families that Kensington and Chelsea Council could now be required to rehouse. The council has decided not to extend the leases from their freeholder at three blocks of flats across Earl's Court and Chelsea.
Ms Abdullah expressed her distress: "We feel so bad about it because we spent so much refurbishing this place – we spent £9,000 doing the kitchen. It's such a shame – for me to move would be devastating." She rents her Earl's Court home in Nevern Square from the council.
Yasmin Carrillo, 51, lives in the same block with her husband and three sons. She described the community as a "good community" where "all help each other out." She fears being forced into an unsuitable situation: "I don't think it's fair because of the fact that we don't know what will happen with our family. I'm afraid that we will be pushed to accept something that isn't right for us."
Ms Carrillo has one son attending a local school and another at university in Central London. She worries the council may separate her family from her eldest son due to the difficulty of finding another three-bedroom flat. "They already told us because it's a three-bedroom flat it could take up to 16 years to get another one," she added. "My boys aren't ready to move to another area."
Lease Details and Impact
The 'headlease' at the Nevern Square block has only six years remaining. The council has decided not to renew it, citing high costs due to the short remaining term. Similarly, the Mulberry Close block in Chelsea also has six years left on its headlease.
Patricia Shepherd, 79, who lives in the Mulberry Close block, said she feels okay about the move as long as she remains in the local area. She noted she won't have to move for at least five years but would be "very worried" if she were younger. Ms Shepherd has no family in England but has a close relationship with a family in the building, making a potential move to another part of the city upsetting.
"I'm one of those people who thinks things will always get sorted out," she said. "I wouldn't want to leave the area – I would create merry hell. I believe in fairness for everybody."
Council's Position
Kensington and Chelsea Council stated it cannot guarantee a local home for every resident who wishes to remain in the area. Homes will be allocated through a choice-based lettings system as they become available. The council will also make direct offers of properties and provide eligible residents with a Home Loss payment of £8,100.
At the Earl's Court property, there are five flats – four tenanted and one leasehold. Mulberry Close has 23 tenanted flats and 17 leasehold. In both cases, leaseholders lease from the council, which acts as a middleman between the freeholder and individual leaseholders. The third block, Beaufort House in Chelsea, has 12 leaseholders but no council tenants. Ten of these leaseholders have extended their leases directly with the freeholder, but two have not. With 20 years left on the headlease, the council wants to avoid spending on major works.
A council spokesperson said: "Decisions like this are never easy and we don't take them lightly. We know this will be an unsettling time for the residents who are affected, we have a dedicated team ready to offer advice and support through the next steps. We will be making a direct offer to tenants to relocate them to a property which has the same number of bedrooms as their current home, and where possible in the same neighbourhood or surrounding areas when properties become available. We will work with the families to ensure any offer is suitable and meets their requirement as their priority. Households will also be able to bid for homes they are interested in through the council's lettings system. There are funds available to cover moving house and the associated costs, as well as a payment to compensate for any disruption."
