He and his brother Steven have been permitted to stay there without a formal tenancy arrangement since his mother passed away in 2023.
The home’s owner, Havebury Homes, has now informed the brothers that it will “help them explore an alternative housing option” but that it wants the property returned by August 13.
“Moving is stressful enough, but if you are having to move in an undignified way in a short space of time with nowhere to go, it’s even more stressful,” said Marshall. “I had literally two sleepless nights where I didn’t even get five minutes [when we found out] and I felt sick – in fact, I was sick several times.”
In 1970, Marshall and his family—including his brother Steven—moved into the house, where they have been ever since.
The lease agreement was transferred to their “loving mum” when their “loving dad” passed away from cancer in 2017. This is only permitted by succession laws once.
Marshall has urged “common sense and kindness” to triumph, even if this means the boys have no legal right to be at the house if Havebury wants it back.
“Just let us stay here. It’s a terrible feeling.” The rent is paid, the bills are paid, and everything is above board, so it’s a no-brainer,” he continued.
“Our family has been here for more than 50 years, and we truly run through this avenue like Blackpool through a piece of rock. Thus, it is an awful sensation.
Marshall claimed that the home was joyful and kind. It will be really difficult to say goodbye to that.
“Every single memory you have is based on the house—every family memory, Christmas, holiday, the various reincarnations of the garden,” he remarked. “So it weighs down on you and it’s terrifying.”Marshall is especially worried about how leaving would impact Steven, 67, who he claims is weak and requires care. “It will completely take him over.”
“West Suffolk Council do not give a damn about me,” he says, fearing that they would be divided and relocated to various residences. As far as they’re concerned, I may live under a tree, but they should at least take care of Steven,” he remarked.
However, I don’t want to see Steven placed in a hotel or hostel because I believe he would struggle on his own and isn’t very adept at taking care of himself. He will be totally dominated by it.”
When the brothers went to court in March to reclaim the residence, the judge decided in Havebury’s favour.
Since then, almost 700 people have signed a petition urging the council to support the couple more or Havebury to rethink.
“I understand that they could get a family in there, but if you bring a family in, you are solving one problem but then causing two more,” Marshall remarked. “At the moment, it just feels like there is a guillotine above our necks all the time. All we want is to go to bed and feel safe and not be evicted on August 13.” It simply feels terrible.
“Houses are distributed equitably”
“Always work with residents to help them explore an alternative housing option” is what Havebury Homes promised.
“As a social landlord, we have a responsibility to make sure our homes are allocated fairly and in line with our allocations policy,” a spokeswoman said.
This makes it possible for people with the greatest housing needs to live in our homes.
“We don’t make households split up.”
The housing cabinet member for West Suffolk Council, Richard O’Driscoll, stated that the authority was not “in the process of evicting anyone.”
“If someone was being evicted, we’d look to work with the landlord and people living in the property to see if [the situation] could be overcome [so they could] maintain the tenancy,” he said.
“As a rule, while we advise members of a household on their options, we do not force any household to separate.” If that is neither feasible nor appropriate, we would either support the tenant through a period of homelessness, such as through temporary housing, or advise them if private rent housing is more suitable to their means, and assist them with the latter if that is their choice.
