A SINGLE mum has told how she was kicked out of her house after her landlord put the rent up – but she took things into her own hands and won.
Toksheen, 37, and her daughter, 10, were ordered to leave their home of six years in Quinton, Birmingham after she struggled to pay rent.
Her landlord put her rent up by £175-a-month – to £750-a-month – last April.
And she only realised her housing benefit wasn't being paid directly to her landlord until she was £3,000 in debt.
But she managed to fight to keep her home after calling on her neighbours for help.
A human barrier was formed to stop the bailiffs getting to the house when they descended on June 5.
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The team was then forced to stand down amid emergency legal action, reported the Birmingham Mail.
Toksheen, whose surname was not reported to protect her daughter, said the situation has been "very stressful".
She added: "To be honest this has been a very difficult time. Everything has just been getting on top of me."
She is able to stay in her home for now, but the bailiffs could return if the court rules against her.
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The single mum, who is training at college part time and wants to become a nurse, said she wasn't able to go to a court hearing because her daughter was struck down by a fever.
Jesse Winney, member defence organiser for Acorn Tenants' Union Birmingham, said: "In this case the mum initially fell into arrears after her rent was raised way above what she could afford.
"It was increased by £175 a month (from £575 a month) which was well beyond the threshold of her housing benefit and is beyond her means.
"We understand there was also some technical issue that meant her housing benefit was not being paid to the landlord for months.
"This has put her into arrears of nearly £3,000 including costs. She is in an incredibly desperate situation."
It comes after a "nice" landlord divided opinion with his strategy for dealing with evictions.
And a tenant told how they were evicted for a "ridiculous" reason.
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