A Leeds family of five have been forced to live all in one room after being evicted from the home they'd known for more than a decade.
The Nolan family had spent 11 years living in Middleton when their landlord decided to sell their home. The Nolans depend on disability benefits after dad Craig developed sepsis in 2016 - and found they couldn't afford any private rents.
With the council waiting list so long, the family were placed into temporary accommodation by Leeds City Council on January 20 until somewhere could be found for them. The accommodation has seen the whole family living in a single room since then, with no cooking or laundry facilities.
The council has now confirmed they have found a suitable home for the family. However, it's undergoing repairs still - alternative temporary accommodation has been promised in the meantime but stressed parents Melanie, 45, and Craig still don't know when that will be.
"We're all currently just in this one room and the kids are arguing and can't get away from each other," Craig, 35, told LeedsLive. "It's really stressful - we can't cook or do laundry here so we're racking up all these extra costs we can't afford going out for that.
"It was a shock when we found out we'd have to leave our old house and it just got more and more stressful as we couldn't find anywhere else to go. They make it so difficult - prices have gone sky high and there's no way we can afford private rent anymore.
"The kids need a home and stability - it's a struggle at the moment, we're living out of a bag. All I'm interested in is a home."
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Craig, Melanie and kids Sian, 11, Jackson, 10 and Patrick, 7, started looking for a home as soon as they were told the one they were at would be sold. But they had no luck on the council wait list or going private - and had to leave on January 19 to avoid bailiffs coming round.
Dad Craig stopped working in 2016 after developing sepsis. Melanie spends all her time looking after him and being a full-time mum to their three children, who are home-schooled.
Melanie's aunt Christine Bradley is trying to help the family financially so they feed the kids, do their laundry and pay storage costs for all their belongings that don't fit in their single room. She has set up a GoFundMe page to help them out.
Click here to donate to the GoFundMe to help the Nolans with storage, food and travel costs.
"I can't believe they've ended up here - it's disgraceful," Christine said. "They're such lovely people - Melanie has always put others first and is so humble. She just wants a home for her children.
"It's just heart-breaking. The eldest just wants her mum to cook them a proper meal but she can't."
The family's situation was raised with Leeds Central MP Hilary Benn, who raised the case with the housing department on their behalf. He said: "It is clearly unacceptable for a family of five to be living in one room.
"We have a housing crisis in Leeds, as elsewhere in the country. The number of Council houses available to let has fallen significantly, while demand is rising and many people find private rents simply unaffordable. It is a perfect storm. “
According to figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, there were more than 26,000 people on the council house waiting list in Leeds in the year ending March 31, 2022. That's the third largest wait list of any local authority in the country - behind only Lambeth and Newham in London.
A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “We are proud of the work we do to help people in housing need, with Leeds having one of the lowest temporary accommodation figures of any comparable city in the UK. With reference to this particular case, the council can confirm it has made the Nolan family a formal offer of a suitable council property located in a part of the city that they have expressed an interest in.
“The property is currently undergoing repairs and we hope the family will be able to view it shortly. Temporary accommodation will continue to be provided while the repairs are carried out.
"The council is readying an offer of alternative temporary accommodation – with self-contained bathroom and cooking facilities – for the family to use during this interim period. We encourage anyone who is in housing need, homeless or threatened with homelessness to make contact with us as soon as possible so we can work with them and give support.”
Have you been affected by trouble finding affordable housing in Leeds? Get in touch at jasmine.norden@reachplc.com
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