Havering Council keeps homeless family in hotels for months

SaraJo Croker and her two children were evicted in February, through no fault of their own, and claims they cannot find a new home because so many landlords discriminate against benefit claimants.

The family is now moved constantly between budget hotels, where they all share one room with no cooking facilities.

They have spent so many nights in hotels that Havering Council is now in breach of the law.

“I thought the council were there to help you, but they don’t,” said SaraJo.

“My kids need routine. I don’t understand why they can’t just leave us in one place. They just don’t care whatsoever.

“Every time you email the council, they don’t get back to you. It’s just disgusting.”

Catch up on our Havering's Hidden Homelessness series:

• Havering Council left homeless families in A127 Travelodge
• Havering spends £560,000 on hotels as homelessness cases soar
• 'I lived in a bin shed for eight months. Why can't I get on the housing list?'
• 'Doctors think the stress of living in hotels may have killed my unborn baby'

Eviction

SaraJo, 38, and her children had lived in the same privately rented property in Harold Hill for seven years.

But just before Christmas their landlord decided to sell the property.

The family was issued with a Section 21 “no fault” eviction notice.

As a single mother, SaraJo can only work when her children are at school.

She works five days per week in a nursery, but her income isn’t enough to live on. Her rent was topped up by benefits.

SaraJo's family were forced to leave their home of seven years, in Harold Hill, when their landlord decided to sell up and issued a Section 21 'no fault' eviction notice (Image: Charles Thomson)

But when she looked for another private rental, she hit an obstacle.

“There’s nothing out there,” she said. “I’ve looked and looked. No-one wants to take on a single mum with two children and part-DSS. I could afford it, but they just wouldn’t take me.”

Others have told the Recorder that they too struggled to find landlords who would rent to benefits claimants.

Council

SaraJo said she approached Havering Council for help long before her eviction date.

There, too, she encountered hostility towards benefits claimants, she claimed.

“One lady said to me, ‘Do you work’? I said, ‘Yes’. She said, ‘Oh, well, at least you contribute’. I thought, how dare you!”

SaraJo said she liaised with the council for weeks.

“Then, the day before the eviction, I tried to get through to the council for five or six hours.

“When I finally got through, they said they had no idea I was getting evicted. But I had been speaking to them for ages. I had sent them lots of paperwork.”

By the time the bailiffs arrived the next day, she said, “I still did not know where I was going.”

Havering has placed the family in a series of budget hotels, often far away from her work and her children’s school.

“They put me in a Travelodge on the A127 in East Horndon,” she said. “My children go to school in Harold Hill.

The Romford Recorder has previously reported on how Havering Council left other families stranded in this East Horndon Travelodge, in the middle of the A127 (Image: Google Streetview)

“I’m working and I’ve got two children and every single Thursday they want to move me to another hotel.

“They’re supposed to give you 48 hours’ notice but it’s usually 11 or 12 hours. I’ve told them I can’t just leave work at short notice.

“I have to keep taking days off, so I’m losing money.”

Missing work in order to move almost weekly, SaraJo said she had effectively seen a 20 per cent pay cut.

Hidden costs

At the same time, her outgoings have ballooned.

She had to put her furniture in storage, costing almost £240 per month.

“Some stuff I had to just leave there, like the dishwasher, the fridge-freezer, because I couldn’t afford to put those in storage as well,” she said.

She is charged daily to park at the hotels and her petrol costs have mushroomed as a result of being placed far away from her former home.

With no cooking facilities, nor even a fridge, she also cannot make her own meals.

“We’re having to eat out three times a day,” she said.

The council

“This is a far from ideal situation for Ms Croker or any family to be in and I share her frustration,” said Paul McGeary, Labour cabinet member for housing.

He cited a national “housing crisis”, saying Havering faced “ever increasing demand” for help with homelessness, but “a shortage of temporary accommodation”.

“We continue to support Ms Croker and her family,” he said.

“We encourage her to continue to look for private rented properties and the council will assist financially for her to move.”