Debe HDC 'landlord': I did not evict them

The man at the centre of a controversy over the subletting of a house in Debe has denied that he evicted a family because they could not pay their rent as a result of the stay-at-home measures to reduce the spread of the covid19 virus.

The three-bedroom house at Wellington Gardens is subject to a rent-to-own agreement with the Housing Development Corporation (HDC). The HDC does not allow tenants to sublet homes.

The official tenant said on Wednesday: "I never told them to leave. No one pressured them.

"Because of the pandemic, I understand their situation.

"We were shocked when we saw the article. We tried to help them to get a place to stay, and now they are making all types of allegations."

The woman, a 25-year-old mother, took to social media to complain against the landlord and her posts went viral. She said she was looking for a place to live, and called on the public for help. Newsday later highlighted her plight.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, also denied threatening the woman who is part of the family of five.

But he now wants the family out of his house. He lives nearby in a property owned by his wife, he said.

Speaking at his home, he told Newsday: "Police came here last night (Tuesday) about it.

"I never made any threats. I have nothing against these people. I have never quarrelled or cursed them. We always had a good relationship. So I cannot say what brought this on."

Asked if he had been renting the property for the past four years, as the woman claimed, he responded, "It was for about two and a half years.

"Right now, I am stressed and just want this to go away.

"No one from HDC has contacted me."

Speaking at the house, the woman, who also requested anonymity said she is a domestic worker, but has not been working since the stay-at-home measures were implemented.

She said she lives with her husband, a salesman, and their three children, eight, seven and three.

Before the pandemic, she and her husband were planning to open a food outlet, and she said a supermarket owner gave them a chiller. Because the family has fallen on hard times, she said she sold it to get money for food.

"I am not working, and neither is my husband right now...I needed the money; I cannot let my children go hungry. People gave us food hampers. I do not have much in the house."

In the past, she said, she herself used to give to people in need.

"A lot of people know me because I do a lot of charity work. I host a Christmas treat, I donate items to flood victims and other things.

"I never expected that I would have been in this situation."

She said she was never late on rent payments and had not missed one until this month, because of the pandemic.

On Monday she reported to Barrackpore police that the landlord had threatened her.

She said, "He told me if he gets into trouble with the HDC, he will find me and deal with me. He said if he loses the house, it will be trouble. That is a threat."

HDC officials, she said, visited and interviewed her.

"They are handling everything. They also told me to stay in the house, and they are investigating...

"I do not know how this situation will play out and I am hoping we get a house."

For her safety and that of the family, she said, the children have been staying elsewhere with relatives.

Housing Minister Edmund Dillon could not be reached for comment.