Sussex Tenant Shocked By Council Action Over Arrears

A council tenant was shocked to be told that enforcement action was being taken against her less than 72 hours after receiving notification that she was in arrears with her rent.

Craven Vale resident Natasha Burney received a letter on Thursday 25 July, saying that she was £2,868 in arrears.

She then received a second letter saying that Brighton and Hove City Council was starting recovery action and seeking to take possession of her home of 11 years.

Miss Burney immediately contacted the council, saying that she believed her rent was paid by direct debit.

In response, the council said that it had no record of a direct debit being set up.

She is also chasing up months of back pay from one of her council jobs.

The money, owing since Miss Burney was suspended from both her roles last September, was promised in an email from Thursday 10 July seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

Miss Burney is a council employee but currently suspended with pay from the two roles that she holds.

She believes that her suspension is related to complaints that she has made about housing and data compliance.

So far, one of her complaints has been upheld by the Housing Ombudsman while 14 remain outstanding with one refused.

Miss Burney was awarded £400 compensation in January after an ombudsman ruling on a complaint about anti-social behaviour by a neighbour involving human faeces left in a communal hallway in September 2023.

Eight complaints have been upheld by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) following data breaches and two are outstanding.

The complaints allege several data breaches, with the council mixing up information and including details from other neighbours’ complaints.

She said:

“It was soul-destroying. It’s an injustice because they owe me money.

"The fact they have the audacity to take any formal action against me, I find shocking.

"My mental health is shot.

“Their lust for revenge and to make me pay for daring to whistleblow knows no boundaries.

“I am (like) a fox in the countryside on the run, the council is the farmer armed with his shotgun and the council officers are his pack of hounds.

“I am desperately seeking a safe space to regain my strength and tend to my wounds.

“The hounds circle around me and I can hear them (and) almost feel their savage teeth snapping at me again.”

Alongside her neighbour Lee Catt, Miss Burney and others in their block were targeted by nightmare neighbour Alex Holmgren, now 29, formerly of Craven Road.

Holmgren was jailed for 30 months just before Christmas 2023 and his home was made the subject of a closure order.

Craven Vale Community Association (CVCA) secretary Alan Cooke has written to the Labour leader of the council, Bella Sankey, and chief executive Jess Gibbons.

His letter in March complained about the treatment of Miss Burney and Mr Catt and its effect on the wider community.

Mr Cooke wrote that two residents – highly respected in the community, having helped their neighbours tackle anti-social behaviour and having worked hard to improve the area – were now being treated as “persona non grata”.

The council said:

“The council takes a supportive approach to rent arrears, prioritising tenancy sustainment over enforcement.

“We aim to resolve issues early through personal contact and dialogue and we offer flexible repayment plans.

“We also provide access to free money advice through services like Money Advice Plus.

“In this instance, we recognise that our communication could have been better aligned with the ongoing discussions about resolving the arrears informally.

“We have since withdrawn the Notice of Seeking Possession warning letter and apologised for the concern this has caused.”