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“We haven’t slept since receiving the eviction notice,” Paulo Redal says. The 43-year-old and his wife, Ana, will lose both their home and livelihood in the space of a few months.
“This hasn’t just ruined our Christmas – it has ruined our whole life,” he added while holding back tears.
Mr Redal and his wife live and run the cafe at Vive Living, Childers Street in Deptford. He will lose his flat in April but has been told he must shut down the cafe by the end of the year.
They are among the more than 150 residents at the apartment complex in south-east London facing eviction after they were served with notices just weeks before Christmas, as first revealed by The Independent.
Some, like Mr Redal, have already been served with a Section 21 notice, known as a “no-fault eviction”, under which tenants can be removed from rented housing when a fixed-term tenancy ends or during a rolling tenancy.
Others have been told to expect a notice in due course and once served, residents will only have a few months to find somewhere else to live.
“I don’t know what I’m going to do, we’re going to lose both our home and our jobs,” Mr Redal told The Independent. “Without our jobs, we have nothing.
“It’s not a big business and we don’t want to be rich – it’s just enough to cover rent and expenses. We live well but that’s all going to go now.”
The couple have lived in the UK for more than 15 years but feel they have no other choice but to return to Portugal.
A letter sent to residents of Vive Living, seen by The Independent, informed them that due to “upcoming refurbishment of the building” all apartments must be vacated.
No residents have reported serious building defects, which was completed in 2017, and no planning applications to make substantial changes to the building have been submitted to Lewisham Council, a local councillor said.
The building contains 83 apartments, with a two-bedroom flat costing around £2,000 a month. Vive Living’s website boasts all apartments have access to co-working spaces, a cinema, a cafe and a roof terrace.
A spokesperson for landlords Aitch Group said they are working with residents to assist their relocations. However, some residents claimed no such support has been offered to them.
Marilize Sage, a 45-year-old digital collaboration expert who has lived in her flat for seven years, told The Independent: “All we got was a lawyer’s letter and one meeting with our building manager. That’s all we’ve had from them so far.”
Ms Sage, who suffers from bipolar disorder, added that she was fearful about what the eviction might do to her mental health.
She said: “It starts with anxiety and then that has the potential to shift into a manic episode, which could shift into a psychotic episode. Once it starts, it could be for months on end. I’m just scared of going back to that place in my head and I’m scared I’m not going to have anywhere to live.
“I need to have reassurance that I have a roof over my head and that I have food to eat. And now they are now taking away my home base.”
Aimee Smith, a 39-year-old secondary school teacher, recalled her excitement after moving into her flat five years ago.
“We were really excited that we found somewhere that was so affordable. And it was the first time I was moving in with my partner. It felt like a bit of a dream.”
She planned on keeping the flat until around 2027 – and perhaps even starting a family there with her partner, Nick.
Ms Smith had no inkling that she would be evicted and even claimed that the landlord had chased her to sign her renewed contract just last week. And when, on Thursday, the evictions began, she initially felt calm.
“To be honest, I felt quite smug to start with because it just seemed to be the first floor,” she said. “And then it just felt like dominoes falling. One person, then another person, then another person. It felt like a bad Netflix series, that sense of dread.”
Ms Smith, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, added that she was not only worried about her health, but also falling short in her work as a teacher, which is “very challenging”.
She added: “To be honest, that Friday, I probably shouldn’t have gone into school. I didn’t want to let the kids down. I didn’t want to let school down. But I was an absolute mess.”
Campaigners have previously warned landlords across the country are rushing to force out tenants as Labour’s ban on no-fault evictions looms. Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner have promised to outlaw Section 21 evictions, with the ban expected to be implemented by next summer.
A spokesperson for Aitch Group said: “Aitch Group have issued a section 21 notice to tenants at the Vive Living development in Deptford to facilitate the refurbishment of the building.
“The tenants have been given two months’ notice, as a minimum, in accordance with their tenancy agreements. We are working with residents to assist them with their relocations.”
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