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‘The bailiffs will come at noon’: desperation and devastation in Britain’s housing courts
At one county court, tenants fighting to stay in their homes get what assistance they can from overworked lawyers in system described as a ‘pressure cooker’
The defendant is a widow in her 80s, disabled with osteoarthritis – and set to be made homeless in two hours.
- Chaminda Jayanetti
- The Guardian
Her husband of 60 years, who was also disabled, died of cancer early this year.
Shortly after, their landlords relaunched eviction proceedings against her under section 21 of the Housing Act – the infamous “no fault” evictions that the government promised to ban back in 2019 but which nonetheless still exist.
We are in a modern, slightly sterile courtroom at…