An OAP facing eviction after a long-running dispute with Gateshead Council says he is now afraid to step outside his front door.
Ken May could be removed from the Wardley council house he has lived in since he was a baby, amid a row over his refusal to allow officials to inspect the property. The 69-year-old was given a reprieve last week, when a judge suspended an eviction warrant against him.
Mr May did not attend that hearing at Gateshead County Court and has now told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that his years-long battle with the council has left him suffering severe anxiety over leaving his home in Standfield Gardens, where he has lived since 1955, fearing the local authority could try to repossess it if he isn't there. Council bosses have threatened the former merchant seaman with eviction multiple times since 2019, saying he had interfered with the home’s electricity supply and allowed it to fall into a poor and dangerous condition.
The latest argument centres on the fact that Mr May will not allow housing officers access to inspect the house, something he insists he is under no legal obligation to do. The council argues that the refusal puts him in breach of his tenancy agreement and that the inspections are needed because of concerns over the safety of Mr May and his neighbours.
Having missed last week’s court date, Mr May told the LDRS on Wednesday: “I had terrible anxiety last week. I could not face going to the court, I could not face leaving the house. I did not know whether they [the council] would come if I left. If they knew I was out for a couple of hours then what is to stop them coming when I am away?”
He added: “With all of this hanging over me for years, I have had to adjust my life. I can’t go shopping during the week, I only go on a weekend because I know that the bailiffs won’t come then.”
Gateshead Council has informed Mr May that it will carry out a property inspection next Monday, June 5, which he does not intend to consent to. Deputy district judge Peter Furness said at last week’s hearing that there was an expectation that the pensioner would comply with the council’s requests for entry before the matter is next before the court.
Mr Furness agreed to suspend the council’s eviction warrant, with a new hearing now set for July 25, saying that he was “not going to make him homeless when he is not here” and had struggled himself to understand the council’s reasoning. However, the judge warned that Mr May was in the “last chance saloon” and that it “is in his interests for him to be here next time”.
A council spokesperson said last week: “Due to Mr May not attending today’s court hearing the current eviction action has been suspended, as we await a new court date. In the meantime the court has confirmed Mr May must abide by the conditions of his tenancy agreement, which includes allowing us access to inspect the condition of his property. We will continue to work with Mr May to amicably resolve the matter.”
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