Couple were ‘reduced to tears’ when they received notice to leave home of nearly 20 years
LANDLORD HAS SOLD HOUSE – AND NEW OWNER WANTS TO MOVE IN
A COUPLE who have lived together in their rented home in Bilborough for almost 20 years have shared their heartbreak at being given 30 days notice to move out.
Gareth and Unni Williams, both 67, have been told by the new owner that they must leave the property on or before January 10. He recently bought the property at an auction after their previous long-time landlord decided to sell.
The couple started to message each other online in 2001 and, on December 23 of the same year, Gareth met Unni for the first time face-to-face in Norway, where Unni is from, and proposed to her.
Mr Williams, who still works in accounts at City Hospital, has lived in Nottingham since 1987, and moved in with his wife to their home on Wigman Road in March 2002. Mrs Williams works as a centre administrator for notfor-profit organisation The Renewal Trust.
Both said their home holds many happy memories and they had no intention to move. But now they’re going to have to find a new home quickly, and both say they have no-one else they could stay with.
The new owner said he bought the property to move into himself as he currently lives in a shared house.
Mr Williams said: “It’s come completely out of the blue and is completely unexpected, it’s made us feel insecure, scared and unsettled.
“It’s like our whole world has been as if a rug has been tugged from underneath us. We were both reduced to tears when we read the letter on Saturday.
“Over the years, we’ve had friends and family visit us from Norway, and the house holds many happy memories for us. We don’t want anyone else to have to go through what we’re going through right now.”
Mrs Williams said: “It’s made me very, very upset - I feel angry too but at the same time, I feel upset, overwhelmed and depressed about the whole thing. In almost 20 years, you accumulate a lot of things, and we’re writing lists of what to do and in what order - our home is not perfect, but it is our home and I love it, I love our garden.
“We don’t have a new home to go to and we can’t do much more than start packing. I’m in quite a dark place.”
She added she has registered with Nottingham City Homes in the hope they can find somewhere for them if needed.
The new landlord, who did not wish to be named, said: “I do feel their frustration but I have no other way as I need the place for myself. I bought the property via auction in good faith as my first home and not an investment property.
“I am currently living in a HMO (house of multiple occupants) and need to move out due to my own health conditions. The previous landlord informed me during the process of the sale the current tenants were informed the property was being sold and it was on the market for nearly six months before auction.
“I have followed the tenancy agreement which has been transferred to me - I have given the tenants the required notice period which is set within the agreement.”