A MUM was made homeless with her seven-year-old daughter after the landlord kicked them out despite paying the rent on time.
Clarissa, 32, spoke of her despair after she was issued an eviction letter followed shortly by a Section 21 order back in April.
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The trainee midwife said the £600 rent was paid when it was due and the family have never fallen into arrears.
Clarissa lives in Birmingham with her fiancé Theo and daughters Bella, seven, Nylah, three, and Macie, two.
The mum-of-three said she has “cried every day since” finding out her family no longer have a place to call home after the landlord decided to sell.
And her oldest, Bella – who understands what is happening – said she “didn’t want to leave my home” as she was forced to pack up her dolls.
The young girl has had to put most of her toys into storage as the family fear they might have to move around.
The family applied to the local authority for help but were stuck in a hotel – which was a one-and-a-half-hour bus ride from Bella’s school.
And at one point, Bella was forced to split up from her family and move in with her Nan.
Bella explained how she struggled with school because of what was going on and thought about her family in the hotel room a lot.
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“I’m finding school difficult. I just think about Mommy at the hotel and stuff like that because I think that it’s hard for her being a Mum,” she added.
“I don’t want to be a mum. Do you know why? Because it’s going to be hard, and I don’t want it to be hard.”
They are now in temporary accommodation but know they could receive a call from the council any minute giving them the boot.
Bella is just one of 120,000 children now living in temporary accommodation in Britain.
Former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May tried to scrap section 21 orders in the hope tenants would stop getting evicted through no fault of their own – but since then, 41,000 have been served to people.
Channel 4‘s Britain’s Evicted Kids: Dispatches airs tonight at 7.30pm telling the story of Bella and her family.
Your rights as a tenant if you’re issued a Section 21 notice
According to Citizens Advice, you can only be given a Section 21 notice if you have a shorthold tenancy – but if you don’t the notice won’t be valid.
You can check your tenancy type here.
If you were issued the notice before March 26, 2020, or on or before October 1, 2021, you legally have two months to find somewhere else to live.
If you haven’t been given enough notice to leave your home, then the Section 21 isn’t valid.
You should also ask your local council to help you as soon as you’ve been issued the notice.
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