Silver Hill tenant told to vacate NHC unit

The tenant who had been subletting a state-run National Housing Corporation (NHC) unit at Silver Hill, Christ Church to two families including an unemployed mother of seven, has until next Tuesday to vacate the premises.

Deputy General Manager of the NHC Clyde Cummins told Barbados TODAY this afternoon that Jeffrey Evan Maloney of Block 4J, Green Hill Close was served with a notice of eviction yesterday and given seven days to comply.

“It is an eviction notice and a notice to remove the illegal construction in the back.

“We are taking this thing very seriously because he was subletting the place and part of the agreement clearly states that he should not sublet…taking advantage of other people,” the deputy GM declared.

He said Maloney did not own the NHC unit and does not qualify for Government’s rent-to-own programme.

“He is not entitled to the purchase under the 20-year programme because he has not been a tenant for over 20 years as yet,” Cummins contended.

Reached this afternoon for comment, Maloney would only say was “I gone to the lawyer with that.”

On June 9 Barbados TODAY first published the story that Maloney had given Shiaka Pond and five of her seven young children who were occupying a space in the built-on structure, notice of eviction over rent arrears.

When NHC General Manager Garvey Alleyne was contacted on that occasion, he said management was aware of the situation and had called in its legal advisors to recommend what action to take against their tenant, Maloney.

Pond, a 32-year-old former gas station attendant, whose other two children were staying with grandparents, revealed that she had been paying $150 per week for the single-space dwelling. Maloney was reportedly paying less than half of that in rent to the NHC. She has since been relocated to an NHC unit in another location.

Pond had complained that Maloney ordered her to get off his premises by the end of last month for $1,100 in outstanding rent, but Pond told Barbados TODAY she had been honouring her obligations.

“I started to get unemployment [benefits]…but I was pregnant at the same time. I was about to have my daughter…she came in February this year. But when I was getting my unemployment cheques I was paying him every time I got them, even if I had owed him, I paid him for everything that I owed,” she stated.

“So it is just that this coronavirus came about and it stopped certain things. I got one maternity cheque and I paid him off when I got that. So it was just that I owed him $100 that would fall into the week. So that is how it managed to go up because he was charging $150 a week,” the mother added, noting that both the electricity supply and water were turned off by the “landlord”.

She received a letter from Maloney dated May 19, 2020 demanding she vacate the premises with all her belongings by May 30, but she remained following the advice of a friend who told her Maloney had no authority to evict her since he did not own the NHC unit and was a tenant himself.
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb