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A disabled pensioner has been forced to live in a tiny hotel room where she can’t properly wash after being evicted from her home of almost 13 years.
Susan Curtis, 74, thought she would live out the rest of her days in her rented home in east London. But in August her landlord decided to sell up and evict her – leaving her homeless.
Ms Curtis has now been living in a hotel for over six weeks, with just a microwave and small fridge to cook and keep food. She has mobility issues and is unable to get into her shower, which doesn’t have any support rails, and so has been using the small sink and a plastic bowl in her bathroom to wash.
She is now facing a potential wait of many months before she can secure a council home.
Homelessness has risen by 11.4 per cent among this age group in the past year, and more older people are homeless now than at any point since records began in 1998, with close to 14,000 people aged 65 and over facing homelessness in England.
Ms Curtis, who receives housing benefit and pension credit, said she was in shock when she was first told that she would have to leave her home. She tried to find somewhere else to rent but couldn’t find any suitable options, in some cases because estate agents were also reluctant to help her because she was on housing benefit, she said.
As she couldn’t find anywhere to move to, she had to rely on the council to step in when she became homeless. In order not to be found “intentionally homeless” by leaving the property too early, the 74-year-old waited for two bailiffs to arrive at her door to evict her.
She is now living in a cramped hotel room in Romford that just has space for a single bed, a wardrobe and a desk. She has a microwave and a mini-fridge in her room because the hotel doesn’t have a kitchen. The makeshift pantry at the bottom of her closet stores some microwavable rice but she is reliant on going to her daughter’s home for a hot meal.
“I go to my daughter’s house every other day but I’m worried about being dependent on her because she is going through treatment for cancer.
“I buy ready meal dinners and I buy crackers, cereal and fruit for my breakfast. All my belongings have been put into storage,” Ms Curtis explained.
She wants to live close to her daughter to support her with her treatment, and also to help care for her autistic 14-year-old grandson - who she often takes to and from tutoring.
She’s also bought a portable radiator, as the one in her room doesn’t work, and a dehumidifier to protect against damp that fills up the room when she uses her small bathroom.
Her main worry is how long she will have to live in the room, as she is now one of 1.29 million people in England and 2,553 in her borough of Havering on a waiting list for council housing.
Havering council said Ms Curtis joined the housing register seven months ago and it can take up to 12 months before people find a home. They said they were advising Ms Curtis to “consider widening their bidding area to other locations in the borough to ensure a higher chance of successful bid attempts”.
Ms Curtis said the hotel manager suggested it might take up to eight months before she is able to move out.
She said: “I’m supposed to rely on my housing officer to find me sheltered accommodation, because of my age and disability, but there is very poor communication. I can’t speak to them directly. I have to speak to a switch board and then they pass on my message. The housing officer then rings back but it’s just been radio silence.
“It’s a very savage system and I feel that I’m being pushed through a system that I’m not equipped to deal with really.”
She is currently on band 3 for council housing but believes she should be a higher priority. “I can’t believe my age and my disability count for nothing. It’s not a very humane system and I think I should get a fairer chance.”
A Havering Council spokesperson said: “This came about as the applicant became homeless due to their private landlord serving notice ahead of their eviction, and as a result the applicant has been on the housing register now for seven months.
“Homelessness due to the private rental sector is beyond the council’s control and is happening more and more as landlords within the private rental sector sell up.”
They added that the council will assess requests for higher bandings and “if the applicant is unhappy with a decision, they can lodge a formal appeal.”
Joanna Elson, Chief Executive at Independent Age, said: “With one in four older renters like Susan living in a non-decent home, it is clear that urgent action is required to improve living standards for older renters who are scared to ’rock the boat’ with their landlords.
“The Renters’ Rights Bill - while not the only action that is needed - provides a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reset the relationship between landlords and older renters so that it is more balanced.”
