Call to stop Tower Hamlets rent arrears evictions caused by benefit cuts

Delegates representing thousands of families on housing estates in London’s deprived East End meet tonight over eviction threats facing anyone going into rent arrears because of benefit cuts.

An emergency meeting has been called by the Tower Hamlets Federation of Tenant and Resident Associations to decide on a ‘No Evictions’ resolution.

Many delegates are calling for support for a call on the Town Hall and other social landlords not to put families in arrears on the street.

The 7pm meeting open to the public is being held on Bethnal Green’s Collingwood Estate in the community hall in Collingwood Street.

The resolution calls on the federation to “adopt a ‘no eviction’ policy for tenants who are in arrears as a direct result of benefit cuts including the bedroom tax.”

Members of Tower Hamlets Benefit Justice campaign are also planning to picket Wednesday night’s council meeting and hand in a petition demanding that no families are evicted.

One-in-five Disability claimants in Tower Hamlets alone are estimated to be losing their entitlements, which Town Hall figures put at 1,300 people.