Today, Austin Charles, a 60-year-old public servant, employed by the Ministry of Works, faces homelessness for the first time in his life.
Charles, who for the past six years has resided in a Housing Development Corporation (HDC) apartment at Paradise Heights, Morvant, was earlier this month declared an illegal occupant and given marching papers to vacate the premises.
He is expected to be booted out this morning by the HDC unless he gets a reprieve from the state housing company or some good Samaritan steps in.
“They sent a letter saying I needed to leave the premises in seven days and when I went to query it. The person in charge was too busy to see me and I was told to leave the apartment or HDC security would put me out,” Charles told the Guardian in an interview last week.
The apartment isn’t in arrears and was leased by his sister, Elizabeth Isaac, for close to 40 years before her death last year. However, the HDC says since Charles’ name isn’t on the lease for the apartment, he cannot continue to live there.
Charles made a decision to permanently move from his family’s home in Diego Martin to live with his sister in 2011, shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer. He works as a carpenter at the ministry and is not married or have any children.
In December 2015, Isaac died.
Later that month, Charles went to the HDC with his sister’s death certificate and a letter requesting that he continue living in the rental unit, which he had been paying for, for some time.
The clerk took the letter and told him he would be notified about the unit.
Charles continued paying rent for the apartment, until March, but when he went in to pay the monthly fee the following month he was told the account was closed.
“So I asked what was going on. They said they would again contact me.”
HDC contacted Charles on July 16, through a letter he received in the mail, addressed “Illegal Occupant.”
During a brief interview on Friday, Housing Minister Randall Mitchell advised Charles to go to the HDC and make application for the tenancy.
Mitchell noted that the legal relationship between the HDC as landlord and the tenant was governed by the lease agreement.
“According to the agreement, tenants are not allowed to assign or sublet their tenancies,” Mitchell said.
He added that if the agreement was terminated by the death of the tenant or by either party, the vacant property must be delivered to the Corporation.