A GOUROCK mum told today how she and her young daughter are facing imminent homelessness following the death of her landlord — amid a mystery over who now owns the flat she rents.
Shelley-Ann Bonnar, 33, says she is in a "state of anxious limbo" because the deceased man does not appear to have bequeathed the property at Nelson Road to any member of his surviving family.
Meanwhile, her year-long lease agreement is due to expire on March 31 and she and daughter Jamie, 12, have nowhere else to go.
Shelley-Ann told the Greenock Telegraph: "My landlord passed away late last year and I've heard absolutely nothing about the flat. Nobody's been in touch with me.
"I've been keeping all the rent money aside to keep myself right but I'm getting more and more anxious by the day about what's going to happen.
"As far as I know he's not left the place to anybody.
"I've sent lots of text messages to his brother but I've heard nothing back."
Shelley-Ann says she has made bids for a number of homes on the Inverclyde Common Housing Register and phoned staff but has so far been unsuccessful in her quest to be allocated a property.
She told how there are a number of issues with her private let property, including a problem boiler and electrical wiring which she fears could result in a fire.
Shelley-Ann said: "I don't know if there's anything seriously wrong but the lights fuse and pop sometimes, and I've had a lot of different things break.
"I hear noises at night and I worry if the place is going to catch fire.
"The boiler is either piping hot or it's freezing cold, and the water is the same."
She added: "It seems every day it's something else that breaks in here and I'm living on my nerves. I mean, where am I going to be?
"I'm bidding for properties but I've not had any success and time is running out fast on my lease.
"I take hormonal seizures every month, so the housing put me on what they call a silver pass, saying I needed some kind of adapted bathroom, but there was nothing coming up to bid on so I asked them to remove the pass because it was stopping me from actually getting anywhere.
"I'm not asking for a big fancy new build or anything like that, just some place nice that I can finally call home."
A spokesperson for Oak Tree Housing Association said: "We have checked Ms Bonnar's application and can see that she has made direct contact with the Inverclyde Common Housing Register on a number of occasions and she has been given the correct advice.
"Until she receives official notification that she needs to leave the property by a certain date then she will not be assessed as homeless.
"Having a homeless assessment will mean a priority pass will be awarded and that will increase her chance of success.
"We note you say that her lease ends on 31 March. This does not mean she needs to leave by this date — to end a lease, certain notices need to be served by the landlord. We do understand that the current situation with her landlord having passed away makes this unhappy situation more difficult.
"As soon as she receives notification from an official source then she should contact Inverclyde Council's homeless service.
"Regarding the repairs required to the property, we suggest contacting the council's environmental services department.
"The only other advice we can offer is to continue to apply for any two bedroom properties that become available. If she has not already applied to River Clyde Homes then we would suggest she does that too."
