'Being evicted absolutely destroyed me as a mother'

Keziah Hall said she had to "fight" everyday to keep a roof over her head

A single mother who was forced out her home of 16 years has called on the government to improve renters' rights.

After she was served a no-fault eviction notice, Keziah Hall and her teenage daughter were refused hundreds of rentals in Brighton and eventually placed in emergency accommodation by the council, which they described as unsafe and unsuitable.

Ms Hall said the experience "absolutely destroyed me as a mother" and "made me feel like I was failing my daughter".

Brighton and Hove City Council (BHCC) said it was committed to providing safe and appropriate emergency housing, while the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said the Renters' Rights Bill would give tenants greater protection in their homes.

'None of this was my choice'

Ms Hall and her daughter, who is 17, were evicted from their privately rented home in Portslade, East Sussex, in April 2024.

She called on the government to ban no-fault evictions so that no one had to go through the same "scary and horrible" experience.

A tenant can currently be evicted with a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice when they come to the end of their fixed-term tenancy or during a tenancy with no fixed end date.

The MHCLG said it would abolish them immediately after the Renters' Rights Bill had passed.

A spokesperson of the National Residential Landlords Association said her organisation was not opposed to the change, but wanted to see a “workable” alternative in place.

Ms Hall has a bachelor's and master's degree

Ms Hall said she applied for 10-14 properties a week after receiving the eviction notice, but was continually rejected.

Average monthly rent in Brighton and Hove was £1,738 in July 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Ms Hall says she could not afford most rental properties in Brighton, and also believes being a single mother and PhD student restricted her options.

Ms Hall and her daughter lived in a cramped room provided by the council while they searched for permanent accommodation

Unable to find a home, Ms Hall and her daughter were placed in what she called “rough” emergency accommodation at a hotel by BHCC, where she said there were two attempted break-ins.

She said her daughter temporarily stopped college because she was “petrified” of being in the hotel and "really struggled" with their living conditions.

“It absolutely destroyed me as a mother,” said Ms Hall. “It made me feel like I was failing my daughter.”

She said the room was not fit for permanent living, with only a microwave and no washing machine.

In a statement, Gill Williams, cabinet member for housing and new homes at BHCC, said the local authority was "committed to providing safe, clean and appropriate emergency housing for people who have nowhere else to go."

Ms Hall worried about the conditions faced by others in emergency accommodation across the city

Ms Hall and her daughter were shown another emergency flat by the council during this time that was so bad it made her daughter “burst into tears.”

“It was disgusting,” she said, explaining that the walls were damp and mouldy, while the flat was dirty and stunk of cigarette smoke.

“Having to move into emergency accommodation is never an ideal situation," said Ms Williams of BHCC.

BHCC has recently agreed a pilot scheme to improve the standard of support for people living in emergency accommodation.

Ms Williams said "no-fault" evictions were "almost always unnecessary" and are a major cause of homelessness.

Eleanor Bateman, senior campaigns and public affairs officer at the National Residential Landlords Association, said there are circumstances in which landlords "legitimately" need to gain possession of a property and this requires a "timely mechanism".

'Housing crisis'

Ms Hall says she finally found a house through a letting agent in Brighton, but had to pay six months rent up front, which she funded through her student loan and housing benefit.

An MHCLG spokesperson said: “The housing crisis is a national scandal and it is affecting far too many people across the country, including in Brighton."

They said the government was "boosting housing supply, including the biggest increase in social homes in a generation".