Author Topic: Eviction from allotment  (Read 4955 times)

Nora42

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Eviction from allotment
« on: May 12, 2020, 22:28:43 »
During covid 19 our rent letters went out late. A friend of mine never got hers and so she assumed the delay was due to covid. the first anybody knew about this was when a young couple arrived and forced the lock on the storage box and began to work on the plot using the tools. I interviened, the box is now on my plot, and rang my friend who told me that she had never received any tenancy aggrement or notice of eviction. All hell has broken out . As my friend is self issolating she couldnt get to the plot so i have decided to try and get t o the bottom of this. The site secratry said she had hand delivered the tennancy aggrement but all emails had never had a response. it turns out the emails if ever sent (who knows) where sent to the wrong email address even thought the site sec had the correct one on previous occassion.
The site sec never tried to phone or Ask anybody who knew this lady where she was?
My friend has now been told that her plot has been rented out. i have been told if i persist in this manner, questioning the actions of the site secretary in trying to contact my friend, i will be evicted too. i only want them to expalin what resonable steps they took to contact her.
Her plot was not really neglected considering her mother was diagnosed with dementia two years ago and sadly died on Thursday from Covid. this is why i tried to sort things out for her.
The box cost £135 and there were about £200 of tools in it. My friend gave me permission to take them and keep them safe for her. i am being made to feel as if i am the nasty person for doing this.
All seems a bit harsh i understand nothing can really be done my friend had the plot for 5 years and not surprisingly for the first time in a long time the site is full. Did i mention the new couple might be related to the site sec.

Nora
Norf London

Beersmith

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #1 on: May 14, 2020, 14:00:20 »
If the site is actually owned by the Local Authority, I think your friend has a good chance of getting their tenancy restored.

My site is "field managed" and the committee look after day to day issues like evictions, but we have had guidance from the LA that during the crisis normal rules need to be handled with great caution.  We could probably still evict for non payment of rent, but evictions for non cultivation are currently suspended.  In fact it was only recently the LA actually permitted people to attend and cultivate their plots.

Your friend's case sounds perfectly reasonable, but I fear you will get nowhere dealing with the site secretary.  You need to appeal to a higher authority. Hopefully that would be the LA but if not perhaps the site owner might take a more reasonable view given the exceptional circumstances.

Good luck.
Not mad, just out to mulch!

Palustris

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2020, 14:20:10 »
And if these people broke into the locked tool storage then that is criminal damage.
Gardening is the great leveller.

saddad

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #3 on: May 15, 2020, 11:37:01 »
Also the NSALG advice to Societies is very clear that during Covid plot inspections and the like shouldn't be used to evict tenants

Nora42

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #4 on: May 15, 2020, 11:48:31 »
Thanks for your replys - there is something very fishy going on . I have appealled to the Charitable Trust which owns the land and they are not budging. if i continue to defame the site secretarty i will be evicted too. next complaint is to the Trust themselves, you never know but i still feel that this situation is nufair and i'm right to chuck my self under the bus.
Norf London

Obelixx

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #5 on: May 15, 2020, 14:07:16 »
It does seem unethical as well as unfair, even if there wasn't a Covid crisis requiring special tolerance for allotment holders unable to get to their plots.

Keep a record of all correspondence and phone calls.  Send a registered letter to the head of the trust and, if it does all go pear-shaped for you, report it to the local paper and the council department responsible for allotments (even if it isn't one of theirs) because this sort of behaviour will only flourish if allowed to be kept hidden.
Obxx - Vendée France

Nora42

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #6 on: June 06, 2020, 14:36:27 »
Just to update you.

The Trust has a new CEO and has compleatly backed his staff on the matter. He is claiming that the process was begun before we were locked down and therefore is valid. this is not true they emailed her at the wrong adress on the 25th March and gave her until the 24th April to pay or be evicted for non payment. She has been evicted for non payment.  i have argued that the method of delivery of the eviction notice is invallid, never giving her a chance to pay. They belive it is not.  the Trust have completly ignored the crime of breaking into her tool box. almost as if they are denying it it ever happened.

I have since had an email from a Barrister who deals in contract law and he agrrees that the landlord has acted illegally and that that if it went to county court the judge would throw it out. so hopefully we can contact our Landlord on Monday and tell him that the Trust it's employees and the site secrectary are in the wrong and have acted illegally. i do understand this will mean my name will be mud, but after my disatorous tenure as chair i really dont care. i do of course care about the threat of evition but don't really see how they can justify bullying the whistle blower if they are found to be wanting. ill place a small vet here that they will still argue they are in the right.
Thanks for all your encouragement, it's nice to know some people care. mostly on our site people are aware of what has happened but we are all nervous and so pehaps understandably nobody wishes to join me in my friends defence.
Nora
Norf London

Obelixx

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #7 on: June 06, 2020, 16:37:50 »
Are there not more of you who think the committee has done wrong and can be counted?  Shame to let bullies get away with such behaviour.

Good luck either way.
Obxx - Vendée France

cacran

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Re: Eviction from allotment
« Reply #8 on: April 06, 2021, 14:11:45 »
I sympathise with you. I would have tried to help a friend out too, in what seems to be an unfair eviction. I would not expect a fair manager of plots would do this. The trouble is that there is quite a lot of back stabbing and competition going on with people who are in charge and their"friends". I have had my allotment for 15 years and have been sickened by the cliques that exist. I am the only woman on the plot and you would think I did not exist. If my husband comes to my plot on passing they all seem to have a remark to make, like ' Has she got you doing some work'. or some such. They often say to me, things like, why doesn't your husband come down to help you etc. etc. I have entered the allotment by walking through another one, which cuts about 20 mins off my journey. I walk straight down the other plot's path to the end and then on to mine. He has decided to fence it off. Oh but he has not told me. One of the other nice people shouted out to me " Has S....ve told you he is blocking his path off so you will have to go the long way round" Not only me uses this entry to the allotment. We have been using this way for years and years with no problem. As if that is not bad enough his site is covered with Maires Tail which comes under the fence onto my plot.I spend ages pulling it out every time I go down ther, putting it in a dustbin and then having to burn it. I was hoping that the allotment people might be nice. There are a few really nice people but there are some real two faced ones. I feel your pain.

 

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