You’ll be evicted, widow Elsie Sugerman is warned
Pensioner feared she would lose flat... because workmen could not make gas safety checks
Published: 18 June 2010
by PETER GRUNER
AN 87-year-old widow was still in shock this week after being told that she was about to be evicted from her council flat in Canonbury.
Wheelchair-user Elsie Sugerman, who is registered disabled, received a final notice of possession on June 7 after maintenance staff said they had been unable to get into her flat to carry out annual gas safety checks.
An inquiry is being demanded as to why Mrs Sugerman was put through the “trauma” of fearing she might lose her home, when her carer, Steve Brodie, 52, who lives upstairs in the same block in Cleveland Road, could easily have been contacted.
Partners for Improvement – the maintenance arm of the council – maintains it sent four letters over three months and made three visits to the flat to discuss the gas checks.
But Mrs Sugarman, who has lived in the flat for 30 years, says she received only letters threatening eviction, including a final notice before court proceedings.
She said: “I was staying with friends for three weeks. The first I heard about the need to check gas equipment was when I returned from my break. It was then I found the notice to evict me. I was horrified. I’ve always paid my rent on time and been a good tenant.
“I might have been away but my carer Steve is always around. In the past they have always contacted Steve when I’m not in.”
Mr Brodie said he has a key to Mrs Sugerman’s flat specifically to let people in when she is not available.
“Partners know that I have a key and their staff have contacted me in the past,” he added. “I can’t understand what went wrong this time. All I know is that an elderly woman was put through a pretty scary experience and told she would lose her home – all because someone somewhere in Partners didn’t have the relevant information.“
Local Conservative activist Larry Dorsett, who has taken up the case, said that at the very least Mrs Sugerman, a retired shop manager, was entitled to an apology.
“No one likes to receive an official letter saying you are going to be evicted but for an elderly person that sort of experience can be extremely distressing,” he added.
“But not only has she not has had an apology, Partners so far have not even written informing her that the eviction has been cancelled.”
A spokesman for Partners for Improvement said: “We’re very sorry that Mrs Sugarman has been upset.
“Gas leaks can be fatal, which is why we must make these safety checks.
“She has now made an appointment for our engineer to visit and we have reassured her that her tenancy is safe.
“We work with residents to protect them, and their safety is of utmost importance.”