> Record numbers of people living in the UK risk being left homeless due to an upsurge in ‘no-fault’ evictions, a recent government report has shown.
…
> One Ukrainian refugee family of nine found themselves on the brink of homelessness, after a ‘no fault’ eviction forced them to leave their rented home only a few weeks after arriving in the UK.
>
> They were rejected by fifteen landlords, despite raising over £20,000 in donations through an online appeal.
>
> “We have trouble and money does not solve the problem. We didn’t expect it would be a big problem because in Ukraine when you have the money, you can rent any home you want,” Maxim Henryk, the family’s father, told The Independent.
—
What a welcoming country this is.
So we’re not giving them payrises, we’re making sure they’re going to get into massive amounts of debts just to heat their homes over winter and then we’re probably not going to help them when they become homeless either. What a country we live in
[deleted]
2000s problems dealt with using 1900s political soundbites derived from 1800s economic theory derived from 1700s social philosophy wrapped up in 1600s classism.
2020-2.
Levelling down
Just the beginning sadly. Evictions are just part of it; separations, family breakdowns and domestic abuse all rise in times of economic hardship.
This is why I live in a van. I’ve been living this way for many years but what started as a convenient lifestyle choice and a commitment to low-impact living has become essential. I work full time in an essential but low wage job and there is just no way I could afford to pay rent, utilities, food, etc. I simply can’t afford to live in a house or flat. And the idea of ever being able to buy somewhere is an impossible dream.
It’s not ideal – hot summers and cold winters are a struggle, I’m not getting any younger, and it’s not always very safe. But it’s the best I can manage, and at least this way I can save a bit so I’ve got a fund if something breaks or I need dental work etc.
I see increasing numbers of people taking this option, buying and converting vehicles into homes. Many of these are people with no connection to traveller or van dwelling communities, a lot seem to be young working folk who don’t see any alternative. So, of course, the government has legislated to make it harder and I have no doubt they’ll continue to criminalise homelessness.
I have this vision of the future our leaders are building – one where everyone who can’t afford to pay whatever rents are demanded by the landowning elite is criminalised. They’ll build big barracks for prisons and we’ll all have an ankle tag that allows us to go to our shitty job every day. They’ll take our wages, to pay for ‘accommodation costs’ and ‘administrative charges’ and we’ll trudge back exhausted from our labours to queue, clutching our bowl and spoon, for the ladle of gray slop we’ve worked all day for. We’ll eat in silence, watched by the armed guards before the bell rings and we return to our ‘rooms’. The electronic door locks behind us, it smells of piss, it’s cold, there aren’t enough blankets and the bedbugs bite. The intermittent screaming disturbs our sleep. Tomorrow’s another day, but it’s going to be just the same.
Sounds like dystopian sci-fi, but it’s what’s at the end of the path we’re walking down. And I’m thinking at least some of the wealthy elite and their political puppets see this as a desirable outcome.
8 comments
> Record numbers of people living in the UK risk being left homeless due to an upsurge in ‘no-fault’ evictions, a recent government report has shown.
…
> One Ukrainian refugee family of nine found themselves on the brink of homelessness, after a ‘no fault’ eviction forced them to leave their rented home only a few weeks after arriving in the UK.
>
> They were rejected by fifteen landlords, despite raising over £20,000 in donations through an online appeal.
>
> “We have trouble and money does not solve the problem. We didn’t expect it would be a big problem because in Ukraine when you have the money, you can rent any home you want,” Maxim Henryk, the family’s father, told The Independent.
—
What a welcoming country this is.
So we’re not giving them payrises, we’re making sure they’re going to get into massive amounts of debts just to heat their homes over winter and then we’re probably not going to help them when they become homeless either. What a country we live in
[deleted]
2000s problems dealt with using 1900s political soundbites derived from 1800s economic theory derived from 1700s social philosophy wrapped up in 1600s classism.
2020-2.
Levelling down
Just the beginning sadly. Evictions are just part of it; separations, family breakdowns and domestic abuse all rise in times of economic hardship.
This is why I live in a van. I’ve been living this way for many years but what started as a convenient lifestyle choice and a commitment to low-impact living has become essential. I work full time in an essential but low wage job and there is just no way I could afford to pay rent, utilities, food, etc. I simply can’t afford to live in a house or flat. And the idea of ever being able to buy somewhere is an impossible dream.
It’s not ideal – hot summers and cold winters are a struggle, I’m not getting any younger, and it’s not always very safe. But it’s the best I can manage, and at least this way I can save a bit so I’ve got a fund if something breaks or I need dental work etc.
I see increasing numbers of people taking this option, buying and converting vehicles into homes. Many of these are people with no connection to traveller or van dwelling communities, a lot seem to be young working folk who don’t see any alternative. So, of course, the government has legislated to make it harder and I have no doubt they’ll continue to criminalise homelessness.
I have this vision of the future our leaders are building – one where everyone who can’t afford to pay whatever rents are demanded by the landowning elite is criminalised. They’ll build big barracks for prisons and we’ll all have an ankle tag that allows us to go to our shitty job every day. They’ll take our wages, to pay for ‘accommodation costs’ and ‘administrative charges’ and we’ll trudge back exhausted from our labours to queue, clutching our bowl and spoon, for the ladle of gray slop we’ve worked all day for. We’ll eat in silence, watched by the armed guards before the bell rings and we return to our ‘rooms’. The electronic door locks behind us, it smells of piss, it’s cold, there aren’t enough blankets and the bedbugs bite. The intermittent screaming disturbs our sleep. Tomorrow’s another day, but it’s going to be just the same.
Sounds like dystopian sci-fi, but it’s what’s at the end of the path we’re walking down. And I’m thinking at least some of the wealthy elite and their political puppets see this as a desirable outcome.
Errr, we prefer to call them air-dwellers.