Tenants from the Butterfields estate in Walthamstow are raising money to mount a legal battle against mass eviction from their homes.

Residents living in the former housing association properties have launched a campaign to raise £15,000, in order to fight eviction notices in the courts.

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The cash would cover legal fees to challenge 15 cases where evictions are at the most advanced stage.

Nicole Holgate, from the Butterfields Won’t Budge campaign, said: “We have been fundraising for a while to cover campaign efforts, but now it is very clear we will also to need to cover legal fees.

“At the moment, our main focus is on looking after the people who have already been served eviction notices and have nowhere else to go.

“Some people have now been served the next stage of the possession proceedings, which means the only way to continue to fight against it will be in court.”

Homes at the estate were rented by Glasspool Charity Trust at affordable prices they were purchased by Butterfields E17.

The company, owned by Chigwell-based developers Jasbir Singh Jhumat and Pardeep Singh Jhumat, served eviction notices on some of the 63 tenants, many of whom live on low incomes or benefits.

Several homes on the estate were then listed on the Savills auction list at the Marriott Hotel in Grosvenor Square, eventually selling for more than £300,000 each.

In April, Walthamstow MP Stella Creasy revealed landlords were in talks to sell the homes to Dolphin Square, a charity which provides affordable homes for working Londoners.

The foundation purchased the New Era estate in Hackney in December 2014, after previous owners, Westbrook Partners, announced plans to quadruple its tenants’ rent.

However, talks between Dolphin and Butterfields E17 have reportedly stalled.

Over the summer, several local estate agents refused to market homes up for sale on the estate.

Foxtons withdrew a listing for a Butterfields flat in August, stating looking after communities in which it operated was: “part of its company ethos”.

For more information on the fundraising campaign, visit: justgiving.com/crowdfunding/e17butterfields.