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Camden News - by TOM FOOT
Published: 06 November 2008

Defiant: Roy and Valerie in the flat

Ex-caretaker to resist eviction

Bid to keep estate home of 33 years

A RETIRED caretaker has been threatened with eviction from the estate in which he has worked and lived for 33 years, raising fears that dozens of loyal caretakers soon to retire will also be ousted from their homes.
Pensioner Roy Franks and his wife Valerie are facing a court battle to keep their two-bedroom council flat in the Langdon House estate in Leather Lane, Holborn.
They have refused an offer of a one-bedroom flat because they hold a secure tenancy and have instructed lawyers to fight their case.
Mr Franks believes the Town Hall is making an “example” of him because several Camden caretakers are approaching retirement.
He said: “I thought this was my home for life. I don’t want to leave. I am going to make a stand because there are many more caretakers that are going to be in my position.”
Caretakers are housed on secure tenancies in the estates they work in as part of their job package and have, in the past, been assured they would be allowed to continue paying rent in the homes after retirement.
With the vast majority of Camden estates built in the 1960s and 1970s, a large number of original caretakers are approaching retirement in the next few years.
Mr Franks added: “I was never told that I would have to move out when I retired. I just stopped working on my birthday in March and that was it.”
Audrey Gandy, who chairs the Langdon House tenants’ and residents’ association, said serving Mr Franks with an eviction notice was “inhumane”. She said despite his retirement he still helped elderly people unplug their drains and helped with the lights and was organising a Christmas celebration on the estate.
Valerie Franks, who has recently broken both her legs, said: “My father worked for Camden Council all his life and so did my brother. Roy has been a caretaker for 33 years and now we are at our wits’ end.”
Unison housing convener Mandy Berger said: “I don’t think there is a judge in the land that would move for repossession in this case. I think it is disgraceful he is being treated like this.”
A council press official said: “In line with our housing allocations service, tenants who meet the stated criteria are awarded sufficient points to enable them to bid successfully for a new home that meets the household size. This is determined by the number of people in the family, their relationship to each other, their age and gender.
“In this case, the family has been assessed as needing a one-bedroom property and in view of the chronic levels of overcrowding and severe overcrowding in the borough, the council cannot justify the award of a two-bedroom property to Mr Franks.”

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