Private tenant takes Lambeth to High Court over S21 eviction

Labour-controlled Lambeth Council is being taken to the High Court accused of unlawfully renting homes in the private sector under insecure assured shorthold tenancies and of having made a decision which will see these tenants made homeless – using the dreaded Section 21 no-notice eviction rule which Labour nationally has promised to ban.

The “regeneration” of five council estates across Lambeth began when Steve Reed, now the MP for Streatham and Croydon North, was the council leader at Brixton Town Hall.

One of those estates is Central Hill, close to the Croydon-Lambeth borough boundary, and which once provided homes to 470 households.

The Judicial Review is being brought by a private resident of Central Hill, who is one of potentially hundreds of tenants facing eviction across the five estates in the borough.

The evictions stem from Lambeth Council’s decision in October 2024 to “return to the council (with vacant possession) of properties currently leased to [Housing for Lambeth]”. The council wanted to deal with the rapidly rising demand for temporary housing by… making people homeless.

Dozens of private tenants on the estate have been affected by the Lambeth decision. They include families with children, pregnant and disabled people, dependents and carers. Campaigners say many of those private renters being made homeless will now have to seek housing from the same council which is evicting them.

“The community we have built will be shattered by the council’s callous decision to evict us,” one resident said.

Housing for Lambeth was the council’s own basket-case housing company, which has proved to be almost as big a flop as Brick by Brick was in Croydon. HfL was ordered to be wound-up after a 2022 independent review described its performance as “very poor” and recommended a “fundamental reset to the council’s approach” to its regeneration schemes.

HfL Group had four subsidiaries, including Homes for Lambeth Living Ltd. Lambeth Council envisioned HfL Living to be a private sector corporate landlord who could let council owned properties at market rent. The council leased these homes to HfL to manage.

A business plan from 2018 shows the council suggesting it could make a profit via this company: “…there are also other opportunities such as developing a stock of homes for private rent, with long-term tenancies and rent stability, improving the quality and security of the private sector”.

The Judicial Review is being brought by a single tenant, who has had an assured tenancy from HfL since 2019. But any ruling may apply to all those affected.

Campaigners argue that the council decision to seek vacant possession of these homes was driven by pressure to dissolve HfL, rather than a genuine intent to create more housing for those owed a duty by the council.

The council is maintaining that HfL Living is the claimant’s landlord.

Lawyers for the claimant said today, “This has resulted in Lambeth Council granting a tenancy they have no power to grant (an assured shorthold tenancy which local authorities can never legally grant) which leaves the Claimant vulnerable to a Section 21, no-fault eviction.”

The claimant is arguing that Lambeth Council, not HfL Living Ltd, is their landlord.

Their lawyers are saying that the council has breached the Localism Act 2011 in using HfL to rent homes in the private rented sector and purportedly to grant assured shorthold tenancies.

And that Lambeth Council breached the Housing Act 1985 in treating the claimant as an assured shorthold tenant and in refusing to recognise that they are a secure tenant.

HfL Tenants’ homes are known to be the cheapest “private” rent housing in Lambeth. “Evicting HfL Tenants would only exacerbate the housing crisis in the borough,” campaigners said today.

“Not to mention, there are already hundreds of council-owned empty homes on the five affected estates, many of which have been empty for years.”

One HfL Tenant said today: “None of us were told we were renting from the council, or that Lambeth saw it as a short-term solution. On the contrary, we asked and were assured we’d be able to stay here long-term.

“This decision seems hypocritical as it’s going directly against Labour’s promise to ban Section 21 evictions, and Lambeth is a Labour-led council.”

A claim has been filed with the High Court in London, with a judge to determine whether the case should proceed to a full hearing. Lambeth Council has until February 5 to respond to the claim.

Alexandra Goldenberg, a solicitor from Public Interest Law Centre who represent the claimant, said, “Lambeth’s decision to rent these properties on the private market is unlawful and has created a devastating impact on hundreds of residents across the borough who have been evicted or are facing eviction.

“This is yet another chapter in a troubling history of estate ‘regeneration’ schemes that have disregarded the rights of residents and communities. It is time for Lambeth to take responsibility and do the right thing, starting with an immediate halt to all evictions.”

Read the Kerslake Review into Homes for Lambeth in full by clicking here

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