One rule I have regarding this website is that I never talk about my personal situation or problems. That changed yesterday when we received an email that our attempt to stay in our parents' council flat had been turned down for the third time. Our story is that in 2008, we moved back into the family rental flat to look after our ailing parents. The flat had been in the family since 1976. When my father passed, we stayed in the flat to look after my mother, who was in no fit state to be left on her own.
Our first attempt to stay in the property was unsuccessful.
Due to Kensington and Chelsea’s archaic and discriminatory housing policy, we
were unable to succeed in the property. So insensitive were the council that
when my dad passed in 2016, he had not yet been buried before they sent a
notice to quit the property to my mother, who was not even on the tenancy. This
was challenged by us and rectified.
When my mother passed away at the beginning of this year, we
again asked for succession. Again, we were turned down, so we asked for a
discretionary tenancy based on the fact that this was the family home for over
50 years, and that we had not only lived in the property for over 15 years, but
we had also contributed to rent and council tax, both accounts were in our
name. We spent a significant amount of money on decorating the flat. We fed,
clothed, and cared for her even when she had her stroke that led to her
passing. Yesterday, we received a letter stating that the council has refused
our discretionary tenancy request, giving no reason, and that we must leave the
property within two weeks, or they will take legal action to remove us. Aside from
the cruel and unjust decision, the council never visited or spoke to us about
our needs at any stage. No alternative housing arrangement has been made or
discussed.
Having researched the housing crisis in the borough, I somehow
doubt that ours is an isolated case. Kensington and Chelsea is one of the
wealthiest boroughs in the United Kingdom. At the moment, there is a massive
housing boom, but it is only catered for the mega-rich. Next door in the
borough of Hammersmith is the former BBC Television Centre in White City, which
has been redeveloped into high-end, exclusive residential apartments and luxury
lifestyle areas. These areas now feature private clubs, high-end fitness
facilities, restaurants and high-security residences, leading to descriptions
of them as "playgrounds for the rich."
In Kensington and Chelsea, there is a severe shortage of
affordable housing, with over 2,900 households waiting for social housing. It
has the second-highest rate of use of temporary accommodation in the capital. The
borough has a high rate of households with children in temporary accommodation,
with nearly 30 per 1,000 households. There are calls for the council to take
action against over 600 homes that have been left empty for more than two
years.
The housing crisis is not confined to London; it is a
national crisis of huge proportions. A recent article shows that “Across the
UK, rents have increased by 40 per cent since the COVID pandemic began in 2020,
and mortgage repayments by 40-60 per cent. Housing stress affects 67 per cent
of the population—45 million people, struggling to pay rents or mortgages,
cutting back on food and heating, or facing eviction and foreclosure. Up to 4
million people are on the waiting list for social housing, with 1.3 million of
these waiting more than a decade. 400,000 people are homeless, sleeping on the
streets, in hostels and shelters or sofa surfing. Up to 2 million children live
in substandard and unsafe accommodation, including 1.5 million in England (one
in six children). One million children live in homes with a Category 1 hazard,
defined as “serious risk to health or safety”.Multi-occupancy accommodation
with renters crammed together, and young people forced to lodge with their
parents into their late 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s, is the new normal. Older adults
in the private rental market face a nightmarish future.[1]
As I said in the opening paragraph, I am loath to go public
with this. However, this council has given me no choice but to. My MP Joe
Powell has been contacted about this case. We will seek advice from the
Citizens Advice Bureau and will take legal action to prepare for the Council's
impending court action.
[1]
The socialist answer to the housing crisis in Britain- www.wsws.org/en/articles/2026/04/16/mpru-a16.html
