FT Adviser has been delving into temporary accommodation and mortgage prisoners over the past couple of years, as part of our investigations into Britons' financial resilience amid systematic issues.
This latest case investigated by FT Adviser is of a single mother struggling to provide a safe environment for her daughter after being "bounced around" and left "stranded", as she put it, by one council.
Known to us as Ms O, she and her young daughter have been left in a situation she described as "heartbreaking" after a series of issues involving the Sutton Housing Partnership and, specifically, the housing regeneration team at Sutton Council.
The council said it had worked "diligently and professionally" with Ms O to ensure that she was allocated a new home in its newest housing development.
The story so far:
Ms O and her neighbours had been told their previous place of residence, the Elm Grove Estate, was due to be demolished and regenerated in 2024, and all residents were asked to leave.
In a landlord offer signed by residents in 2022, everyone was told they would receive a moving home loss payment to cover moving costs and new home needs, as they were being displaced. This offer would stand once they handed their keys in.
But the problems unravelled for Ms O, who was in temporary accommodation, when a place she and her infant daughter were originally allocated by the regeneration team was far from her child's school, had no flooring, and was cold and damp.
She emailed the housing regeneration team in September to ask them to uphold the original landlord's agreement, which was that residents would be moved temporarily to suitable accommodation commensurate with their existing home.
She also asked the council to agree she can move back into her original home on the estate, once the renovations were done.
Complications arose around Ms O stating she could only live in an exact location, which meant it was harder for the team to find her appropriate accommodation, and the fact she had been in a temporary accommodation situation.
FT Adviser became involved in ongoing conversations, where Ms O was being asked repeatedly to bid on available properties, but she claimed these were not "safe or suitable" for her daughter, as per the original landlord's agreement.
In early October, the team found Ms O a flat which had flooring and was near to public transport, and Ms O accepted. FT Adviser was copied into those email conversations. She handed her old keys in by 12pm on October 14.
FT Adviser contacted the team on Wednesday October 23, giving a Friday morning deadline for comments before publication. On Friday 25 the council team provided comments on background only.
It is understood that, while the council tries as far as possible to meet the needs and preferences of its residents, it also encourages them to expand their housing choices so there is a better chance to meet their housing needs sooner.
