An entire row of tenants have been left in a panic after being told to leave their homes within weeks. Neighbours living in a row of terraced housing near Scunthorpe were shocked when, on January 10, someone knocked on their doors and handed each of them a letter telling them they had until April 1 to get out.
The landlord who owns the entire Normanby estate in Thealby, Robert Sheffield, has decided to sell off the homes "out of the blue", leaving residents who live there in tears worrying what they are going to do next. "Extortionate" rent prices have left one couple, who have lived on the estate for three years with their 30-year-old son who has Down's Syndrome, struggling to find somewhere else to live since the shock announcement they would have to move.
The woman, who asked not to be named when speaking to GrimsbyLive, said she was handed a letter by a man who said "I have to do this, I'm sorry". When she opened the letter, she said she "just cried" and was left feeling "numb".
The 59-year-old said: "We'd always been told it was ours for life as long as we looked after it. The gentleman just handed the letter over and said, 'I have to do this, I'm sorry', and passed me it and went. He didn't explain anything."
She said that she believes every tenant on the row of six houses where she lives was handed the same letter, but said she saw "at least 10 more" letters in the man's hand, meaning even more people could be affected. The letter said that after a "thorough review of assets", it had been decided by the new landlord that the properties would be sold and tenants would either have to leave or find a way to purchase the home they are living in.
The letter, from DDM Agriculture on behalf of the landlord, reads: "As you are no doubt aware, Robert Sheffield is now the owner of the property which you occupy and, as such, some of the Estate priorities have changed. A thorough review of all assets has recently been undertaken and various options considered. It has been concluded that not without the deepest of consideration, the Landlord has decided to sell off the property that you occupy. Unfortunately for you, this means that we need to formally conclude your tenancy. This decision has not been taken lightly."
The letter - which GrimsbyLive has seen - goes on to state that the landlord wishes to give tenants "the first opportunity" to purchase their properties. "I apologise for the formality of this letter and I also obviously appreciate that this will be news that is not welcome to you," the letter continued. "I am legally required to serve you with the enclosed Section 21 Notice, to formally conclude your tenancy of the property."
A Section 21 notice is what a landlord in England and Wales must give to their tenants to formally begin the process of eviction in a property let in an assured shorthold tenancy without providing a reason for wishing to take possession. An agent of the landlord may give notice on the behalf of the landlord.
The letter continues: "As you will note, the Notice requires you to vacate and arrange to remove all your associated possessions, as of 01 April 2023. However, I am happy to agree that if you choose to leave sooner than this date and hand back the keys at the Estate Office, this will be the date your rent liabilities end."
But the tenant said her family are not in a position to buy the property. "I'm nearly 60, my husband is in his 50s and he has heart problems. He works shifts and I'm a full time carer for my son, so we only have one income coming in.
"We don't have that sort of money and we're not in a position to buy. We have to eat, drink and pay bills so how are we meant to get the money together?," she said.
"My son has Down's Syndrome, he has a heart condition and he also suffers with anxiety and panic attacks. We need to live in this area because my mum, who's ill in hospital, is from Burton, and if she does get back home, I'm her carer as well. I can't be a million miles away from her.
"It's come at the worst possible time for me, I've got enough going on. My mum has been ill in hospital since early December and to get this while my mum is in a care home, it couldn't be at a worse time. I know they've given us two months' notice, but what are we going to find in two months? Rent prices are extortionate. It's just going to be so, so hard to find anywhere."
She said the tenants feel they have had no negotiation or rapport from the landlord about the situation. "I could've understood if they put the rent up, I would've accepted that. But they've had no negotiation with any of the tenants at all, we had no indication it was going to happen, it was just out of the blue," she said.
"Even if they offered us other rental properties, that would be fine, but they're not even coming to us and saying they can help. We had no information on it whatsoever, so I don't know what his thoughts are or why he's doing it.
"I wish I knew. I could understand a bit more if I knew a reason, but there's been no reason given.
"I've gone from being numb and sitting down and crying about it to actually feeling angry now because it's just a situation that I didn't ever see myself having to face."
Another tenant on the row of houses said he felt panicked and angry when he was given the letter, and that neighbours had "no pre-warning" about the situation.
"I felt the same way anyone would've felt. I was panicked and angry to start with, the same as all the neighbours. I felt like we just got hoiked out straight away, we had no pre-warning. It doesn't just happen overnight, they could've given us some insight. We've been told it's a business decision, it's nothing personal, but it is personal. No-one can afford houses at the minute because of the cost of living crisis," he said.
"There's people who have lived here for nearly 20 years and all of a sudden they've been given two months to get out. I'm lucky because I can just go and move in with my mum, but my neighbours aren't able to get a house and have been told they might have to move into a hostel."
Normanby Estates and DDM Agriculture have been approached by GrimsbyLive for comment but have not yet responded.
