A South London resident is embroiled in a legal dispute with her landlord, a prominent homelessness charity, over alleged unpaid rent, following an initial attempt to remove her from her home using a 'no-fault' eviction notice.
A Section 21 Notice and a Disputed Debt
Kim Mansell, who has lived in her flat for nearly five years, is a tenant of the 999 Club, a charity supporting homeless people in Lewisham and surrounding boroughs. The charity owns several private rental properties, which a spokesperson confirmed are separate from its homelessness services but generate income for its work.
In the summer of 2025, Mansell was served a Section 21 eviction notice, ordering her to leave by August 11. She states she was fully up-to-date with rent at that time. After the proposed eviction date passed, she claims to have seen her flat advertised online with a rent £250 per month higher than she was paying. The advert was later removed.
In October 2025, the situation escalated when Mansell received a court order. The 999 Club is taking her to court in February 2026 over alleged rent arrears totalling £1,885. Mansell strongly disputes this figure, questioning its origin and suggesting she may have overpaid rent in the first half of the year.
Breakdown in Communication and Personal Impact
Mansell alleges that attempts to discuss the eviction with the charity's CEO, Charly Richardson, were rebuffed. She says she was told a meeting would be unproductive and instructed not to contact him again. Efforts to resolve the alleged arrears with the charity and its managing agent have, she claims, gone unanswered.
"I don't know where this number has come from," Mansell said regarding the £1,885 sum. "My only conclusion... is that they are trying to get more money for the property before the new laws come in." She believes the charity is acting ahead of the Renters' Rights Bill, which will ban Section 21 'no-fault' evictions from May 1, 2026.
The stress of the impending court case and threat of homelessness has severely affected her health. Having quit a marketing job to open a local gym, Mansell says her home is her sanctuary. "Everything I own would have to go," she stated, explaining that leaving would force her to sell all her possessions, including her bed, sofa, and piano, with friends' couches as her only alternative.
Charity's Response and the Wider Context
In response to enquiries, a spokesperson for the 999 Club said: "To protect privacy, the 999 Club cannot comment on individual tenancies. The properties are managed on our behalf by an external managing agent... Important decisions regarding our properties are never taken lightly and only following advice from our managing agents and with independent legal support."
The spokesperson explicitly denied the eviction was for rent increases: "The 999 Club would not issue notice simply to increase the rent, and did not request the property be re-advertised."
This case highlights the ongoing housing crisis. Organisations like the Single Homelessness Project identify Section 21 notices as a leading cause of homelessness in the UK. The upcoming ban aims to provide greater security for tenants, requiring landlords to have a concrete reason, such as selling the property or genuine rent arrears, to seek possession.
