A Green party council candidate is attempting to evict his Labour opponent from a house he owns using a no-fault notice, despite his party supporting a ban on exactly such kinds of eviction. William Pedley, who is standing for the Greens in the Victoria ward of North Northamptonshire council, has served a section 21 notice on his tenant and political rival Kelly Duddridge, who has lived in the property for 10 years. Duddridge remains in the property but says the threat of eviction has caused her and her family significant stress, while Labour has accused Pedley of hypocrisy given his party’s opposition to no-fault evictions. Other Green party politicians have been accused of showing hypocrisy by calling for more clean energy while opposing solar farms and electricity pylons in their local areas. Duddridge told the Guardian: “I am trying not to think about having to move away from the house. I love the neighbours and my four children are settled. But the reality is, once a section 21 notice has been served, there is not much I can do about it.” A Labour spokesperson said: “This is yet more rank hypocrisy from the Green party. Threatening to evict a tenant via no-fault eviction while standing on a platform to abolish section 21 simply beggars belief. Time and again they pledge one thing and do another.” A Green party spokesperson said: “We understand that Mr Pedley served the section 21 eviction notice almost a year ago. The order was served because his personal circumstances meant he required the premises for his own use.” Section 21 notices allow landlords to take back control of their properties with two months’ notice without the tenant being at fault. Labour is planning to abolish such evictions as part of its renters’ rights bill, which has passed the Commons and is due to be debated in the Lords. The Greens have also backed an end to no-fault evictions. In its fair deal for renters, the party argues that ending the practice will mean tenants “don’t have their lives turned upside down on the whim of their landlords”. Carla Denyer, a co-leader of the Greens, previously tweeted: “The immediate ban on section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions is very welcome and will help protect over 10 million renters from risk of eviction.” Duddridge said Pedley had first tried to evict her and her family in 2016, but had rescinded the notice three weeks later. Last March, he issued a new section 21 notice, giving her two months to vacate the house. Duddridge has not yet moved, prompting a legal letter last August warning her to leave after 12 October. Duddridge says she plans to remain in the property until bailiffs attend as she has been advised that doing so will make her more likely to qualify for council housing. “Running in this election has been my sanctuary from the stress of the potential move,” she said. “So I couldn’t believe it when I saw my landlord had also entered the race.”
Author: Kiran Stacey Political correspondent