A disabled mum and her daughter are facing sleeping in their car after being moved out of their home by a council.
Pauline Royce, 62, and her NHS worker daughter Nashstacia Gayle, 28, have been left sofa surfing for the past couple of weeks after Lewisham Council cancelled their temporary accommodation.
The mum had asked the local authority to move her from her Catford property as a mould problem in the bedrooms was causing her breathing problems.
She had resorted to sleeping on a mattress in the kitchen, reports MyLondon.
The council offered the pair a house an hour away in Illford but it meant Pauline would struggle to get to hospital appointments.
She is awaiting a knee operation and can't walk without assistance.
However, the council considered it a "reasonable offer" of interim accommodation and now feel they no longer have a responsibility to house her.
A review into Pauline's case is currently underway but until a decision is made the pair face not knowing where they'll be sleeping as the temperatures begin to plummet.
Pauline said: “I don’t know where I am from one day to the next. It’s not a way to live. If we don’t find a place tonight then we’re going to have to sleep in the car in Lewisham Shopping Centre car park.
"They [the council] say I can travel 90 minutes for an appointment at the hospital, but I can’t take a bus or train. I have to take patient transport. I can’t walk without assistance. I’m just asking for them to look at my health.”
Pauline and Nashstacia moved into the temporary house in Catford after their previous landlord evicted them on September 23.
Pauline fell behind on rent payments during the pandemic when she was forced to close her Jamaican street food stall at Lower Marsh market in Waterloo.
Over the months that followed her health deteriorated and by the time lockdown restrictions were easing, she was unable to work due to inflammatory arthritis in her knee.
Nashstacia paid what she could, but she only worked part-time hours at the time and the family fell further into arrears.
When Lewisham Council said they could move into the temporary house in Catford on September 14, they were thankful.
But their relief soon turned to horror as they discovered the state of the property.
Pauline said: “There was mould everywhere. They had painted over it but we couldn’t breathe in the bedrooms. It was like being in a drain. I caught a cough.
“We ended up having to drag a mattress into the kitchen and sleep there because it was the only place we could breathe.
"The freezer didn’t work and it defrosted, ruining all our food in the fridge. There was a step up to the front door which I couldn’t do without help.”
Pauline turned to the council staff for help and they offered her the flat in Ilford, which she explained wasn’t suitable.
But council staff weren’t sympathetic.
In one email exchange, a staff member accused her of “bombarding” the council with emails after she complained about the accommodation offered.
A Lewisham Council spokesperson said: “We have been reviewing Ms Roye’s case and will be looking to make her a new offer of temporary accommodation, in line with our Location Priority Policy.”
We expect all members of staff to be polite and professional when supporting residents with their housing needs and are investigating the comments made towards Ms Roye.”
