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downsmail.co.uk Council ‘holding up house sale’
APENSIONER says advice from Maidstone Council is preventing him from selling his home and en- joying his retirement. When landlord Howard Jobson
(69) gave his tenant – a benefit claimant – 60 days notice to leave the house in Redsells Close, Downswood, she said she would stay because the council had told her towait for an eviction notice. It left Mr Jobson, who looks after
his disabled wife Jacqueline (70) at their home in Barming, with no choice but to pursue a possession order through court. He said: “I want to sell up and
enjoy the last few years ofmylife but I can’t get my house because the
ment for prostate cancer. Steve Ellis, of estate agent ASM,
based in Tonbridge Road, said in the past two years his company had dealt with about a dozen cases in which tenants had been evicted after being advised by the council to stay. He said: “It is unfair on landlords
Jacqueline and Howard Jobson
council has told her to stay until she has been evicted. I can’t get my hands on my money to make my wife’s life better.” Mr Jobson, who was the landlord
of the former Royal George pub in Boxley Road and The Redstart Inn, Barming before going bankrupt, says his health is poor after treat-
and poor advice for tenants because they still end up in temporary ac- commodation.” Buy-to-let investor FergusWilson
said: “The tactic adopted by Maid- stone Council of telling tenants to wait for the bailiff causes a very long delay, due to courts being over- whelmed after austerity cuts. “Very often it can delay the sale of a property for a year. Landlords,
having experienced this, take the view of ‘once bitten twice shy’ and will not accept further housing ben- efit tenants. “The tactic employed by Maid-
stone Council and all other councils in Kent is counterproductive in that it offers a short-term solution for the tenant but creates a long-term prob- lem due to the registration of a bailiff eviction ruining any future chance of private rented accommodation.” A spokesman for Maidstone Council said: “The council has a duty to provide advice to all tenants about their legal rights. This includes their right to occupy a property, if they wish, until a warrant for evic- tion is concluded.”
Shared planning system to be reviewed Home refused
MAIDSTONE is having to look again at its planning shared sup- port service. Chaos reigned after the coun-
cil formed a partnership with Swale and Tunbridge Wells, with applications being stock- piled and delayed, and the ap- pointment of a dedicated officer to unblock the log-jam of paper-
work. Although procedures have im-
proved, all three councils are meeting to discuss the way for- ward, which could mean one or all reverting to their previous way of working. Maidstone’s chief executive Alison Broom told the cabinet that the team as a whole had
“continued to improve” but, the combination of staff holidays over Easter and an increase in the number of applications received, had resulted in yet another in- crease in waiting times for vali- dation. A meeting was due to be held
between the three local authori- ties to discuss the way forward.
APROPOSAL for a three-bedroom house with office in Caring Lane, Leeds has been refused. Maidstone Council felt the scheme for land opposite Wild Acres would have harmed the countryside. The applicant had said it would be an “eco house” but it drew objections. One neighbour wrote: “At 250sqm this is still a large building which would be a blot on the countryside.”
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