A young mother whose life was suddenly turned upside down is now fighting for somewhere safe to raise her daughter. For 13 years, Abbey lived safely in the same rented home as her mother in Woodley, Stockport.
Nine months ago, the 20-year-old welcomed her baby daughter into the world, and three generations of the family were under the same roof. But a notice issued to the family shortly before last Christmas changed all that.
They were served a Section 21 ‘no-fault eviction’ notice as the landlord ‘wanted to sell up’, forcing Abbey to join the thousands on Stockport’s social housing waiting list. She and her daughter were moved into a hotel before being offered temporary accommodation in Offerton, at a site with a shared kitchen and bathroom facilities.
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But after arriving to a ‘filthy’ room and raising alarm over drug use at the building, Abbey turned it down. Now, she risks being deemed ‘intentionally homeless’ if she does not return to the flat, and is currently ‘sofa-surfing’ with relatives.
“I literally went in and went straight back out,” she told the Manchester Evening News. “They said I had made myself homeless so they would not help me further.”
After the Section 21 notice was issued, Abbey made a separate application for social housing to her mother, so she and her young daughter could have their own home. While her mother qualified for a property in Tameside due to work, Abbey had to remain in Stockport.
She was placed in a hotel in March by Stockport Homes, but Abbey says she received a medical letter stating that the accommodation was not suitable for her daughter. Abbey says she needed food preparation facilities, as her baby is unable to eat food from pouches.
After her daughter was admitted to hospital and had X-rays for her stomach, Abbey says she pushed for a move to more suitable accommodation. “I was emailing, not getting much back,” she said.
Having grown frustrated, Abbey says she filed a formal complaint to Stockport Homes about the situation. Stockport Homes, which manages the borough’s housing stock and register, says it is facing unprecedented demand for housing and hotel placements are used on a short-term basis, before more settled placements are found.
In January, it was revealed there was a waiting list of 6,000 for social housing in Stockport. Abbey was eventually offered temporary accommodation at a site in Offerton last week-but as she arrived, she realized it would not be safe for her and her child.
“As soon as we got there a woman – really heavily on drugs – nearly knocks my daughter out of my auntie’s hand,” Abbey said. “We got taken up to the room and it was filthy.
“There was hair everywhere, writing on the walls, it was really unclean. I said to the woman [at reception] do you have active drug users living here, and she said ‘yeah’.”
Abbey says she contacted Stockport Homes about the property, who told her it had been ‘deemed safe’. Abbey, who suffers with severe anxiety, insisted the property would not be suitable for her or her child, and raised concerns about the shared facilities.
“My mental health will not allow me to go in there,” she said. “They’ve told me that apparently the room was clean, and someone offered to clean it again… that room was filthy.”
Abbey declined the offer – but in correspondence seen by the MEN, she has been told by Stockport Homes that the property is the only temporary accommodation available to her. Stockport Homes insists accommodation should always be clean and safe, and temporary accommodation residents who pose a risk to other people’s safety are asked to leave.
The property Abbey was offered was at a site which is staffed 24 hours a day and has been used to house families and single people for 30 years. Now she is staying with family, Abbey has also been informed that Stockport’s social services will be contacting her about her circumstances, something she believes to be unfair.
“I shouldn’t have social services for my child when it’s Stockport Homes’ fault,” Abbey added. It’s understood Stockport Homes policy is to make a referral to children’s social care if an offer of accommodation is refused, even if they are staying with a relative, to ensure any needs are met.
Further discussions should also take place to help secure settled housing. A joint statement from Stockport Homes and Stockport Council said: “Whilst we can’t comment on individual circumstances, we are always concerned to hear about experiences such as this and will always offer a variety of support to anyone facing difficulties with their housing situation so families can avoid homelessness in any form.”
The Government is promising to ban Section 21 ‘no-fault evictions’ as part of the Renters (Reform) Bill, which is making its way through Parliament. However, it wants to delay a full implementation of the ban until a review takes place in the courts to assess their capacity to deal with new cases.
That has led campaign groups to withdraw their support for the Bill over an ‘indefinite delay’ to the ban. Shelter’s chief executive, Polly Neate, said the Government had ‘committed a colossal act of cowardice in the Commons by ratifying an indefinite delay to the ban on no-fault evictions’.
A Department for Leveling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “Our commitment to scrap section 21 no-fault evictions as soon as possible is unchanged. We have always said we will give six months notice before ending section 21 for all new tenancies. In In addition, we have committed to ensuring improvements in the courts service are rapidly implemented before extending this abolition to all existing tenancies.”
