A ‘heartbroken’ couple have been ordered out of their south London home where they have lived for more than 40 years after the council they rented from failed to renew their lease.
Sue, 70, and Bill Aylott. 71, moved into their house in Streatham in 1979 bringing up their two children and recently celebrating their Golden wedding anniversary at what they thought was their forever home.
But just before Christmas the couple, who are in their seventies, received a notification from Lambeth Council that they would have to move out.
They said it was the first time they were informed that the council did not own the house but instead were leasing it from a property company.
Council officials hit them with the bombshell that the lease had expired and Lambeth had failed to secure an extension with the owner of the property.
The couple have spent tens of thousands of pounds upgrading the house over the years, including most recently £4,000 on new carpets.
Mr Aylott has been treated for lung cancer and his family fear the upheaval will affect his health.
Mrs Aylott told Metro: ‘We are heartbroken. We have paid our rent to the council for many years. We had no idea someone else owned it.
‘It was a total bolt out of the blue when they told us.
‘It was just before Christmas and our lives have been thrown upside down. We brought our children up here and have a lifetime full of memories.
‘We have spent so much money on improving the house inside and out. We have just replaced all the carpets and we have built a pond in the garden. We have made it lovely and now someone else will benefit after all our hard work.
‘My husband has health issues and we are disgusted about the way we have been treated.’
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The house is close to Streatham Common and has jumped in value over the decades the couple have lived there.
Lambeth council has offered them alternative rentals but the forced move has rocked the family’s life.
The property company which owns the house told Metro it contacted the council six months ago expressing its intention to not extend the lease on the property.
The couple’s daughter Kelly Jones said: ‘It’s terrible what they are being put through by the council. My parents are getting old and they are not being offered appropriate houses.
‘They will have to throw out a lot of their stuff as it won’t fit. They have been badly let down. Why didn’t the council tell them earlier to help them prepare? It’s just shoddy.’
A spokesperson for Lambeth Council said: ‘This family have lived in this home for more than 40 years and have been exemplary tenants.
‘However, the property they occupy was not owned by the council, but leased from the owner.
‘Unfortunately, now that the lease has expired the owner of the property has decided to take it back.
‘We have offered to buy the property at a market rate, but the owner has made it clear that they do not want to sell.
‘The freeholder has also declined our proposal for a short-term extension of the lease, at a fair market rent, to allow more time for us to rehouse the current occupiers.
‘We know, of course, that this has come as a terrible disappointment for the Aylott family, and are doing everything we can to help them through this difficult situation.
‘Above all, we have offered to them another council property locally of a similar size and type, but this has been declined. ‘We are asking them to reconsider and are keeping the offer open for another week.
‘We’ve also offered the family a home loss payment, disturbance payments and removal expenses.’
‘The property company who own the house told Metro that they had given the council ample notice of their intention to end the lease with them and had been open to negotiation with Lambeth if it wanted to buy the house.’
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