A neighbour has reacted with anger after a mum from Bracknell, Kim Gardner, who has been a social housing tenant for decades, was evicted and forced to give up her four pet cats.
The property in Hamlet Street is split into flats. It was run by London & Quadrant (L&Q) and was recently taken over by Housing Solutions, based in Maidenhead.
Liam Musgrove, her neighbour, said: "They are evicting my neighbour, she is 66 years old and she has lived there for 37 years."
He added: "She was getting letters, but they were getting sent to the wrong address."
On the eviction he said: "They've changed her locks, I've had to take her in, and she's had to put her four cats up for adoption." A photo he sent showed the cats and Ms Gardner's other items piled outside.
Ms Gardner said: "They were my beloved cats, but what could I do? And they've been there for eight to nine years as well." She had lived in a two‑bed flat where she raised her two daughters and has physical illnesses that make her vulnerable.
Musgrove said the action is over alleged rent arrears: "She was working under the impression that part of it gets paid, and she can prove that with letters." He also pointed to a sharp rent rise: "The rent has gone up from £700 to £1,200."
He criticised the landlord change and poor maintenance: "No, it hasn't been resolved - it's frustrating, I've got rats still, I hear them scratching in the loft, it's a shambles really. If you're a housing association, you have a duty of care to maintain an acceptable standard in a property."
Ms Gardner also said: "I've waited two and a half years to get my roof done to defend it from squirrels, but it hasn't been solved."
Housing Solutions was asked to reverse the eviction and deal with the rodents. The firm said it aims to keep people housed, supports residents to sustain their homes and only considers eviction where it cannot resolve matters any other way.
James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter
