A MUM has revealed the reality of being homeless in England.
Danielle, from west , was made when she was forced out of her private rented flat after her landlord sold it.
Danielle was left homeless after her landlord sold her homeCredit: tiktok/bbcnews
Since then, the mum-of-three has been forced to move four times in just one yearCredit: tiktok/bbcnews
Now the mum-of-three has been forced to move four times in just one year.
Danielle initially went to her local council to seek help, but it hasn’t been easy getting a stable roof over their heads.
Instead of offering her a house, Danielle was placed in a hotel.
“When I arrived, all we had is the basics that come with a Travelodge. You get a kettle and that’s it,” she explained to the BBC .
Just five days later, Danielle and her children, Callum, seven, Harper, four, and toddler Cameron, were moved to a different hotel, several miles from their school.
It meant the children had to be up at 5:30am just to make it into school on time.
After the family had settled, they were told once again they were being moved again, although Danielle was not told where she and her family would be staying.
“I ended up sitting in ‘s cafe with my kids, trying to call my housing officer multiple times, getting no response,” Danielle said.
Later that day, Danielle was told she would be moving to a shared house that night.
“The house is really loud and really busy. And also, there’s no privacy. and HMOs are not made for long periods of stay,” she explained.
After almost a year of being placed in hotels and shared houses, Danielle was finally moved to a two-bed flat.
But her battle to find a forever home was far from over as she explained she could get a 24-hour notice to leave at any point, despite the children starting new closer to the flat.
Danielle’s council, Ealing, told the BBC the number of homeless families in its borough is “overwhelming” and it’s working hard to “get families in more suitable accommodation”.
“I could get a call and be given a 24-hour notice to leave again,” she explained.
“I’m hoping that we can just kind of stay here and move forward. And they can thrive in their new school and be happy, be children.”
The clip went viral on BBC’s TikTok account and many took to the comments, disappointed to see the mum go through such tough living conditions.
One person wrote: “Her looks great… I can’t afford to get mine done.”
What to do if you're made homeless
In England, your council must help if you’re legally homeless or will become homeless within the next 8 weeks.
You may be legally homeless if:
- you’ve no legal right to live in accommodation anywhere in the world
- you cannot get into your home, for example your landlord has locked you out
- it’s not reasonable to stay in your home, for example you’re at risk of violence or abuse
- you’re forced to live apart from your family or people you normally live with because there’s no suitable accommodation for you
- you’re living in very poor conditions such as overcrowding
There are different types of support your council could offer you. For example, they may offer you advice, emergency housing, support to find longer-term housing or help so you can stay in your home.
If you are looking for advice you can contacting housing charity Shelter for advice, Citizen Legal Advice for a legal aid, and speak to your local council for help.
Another commented: “Oh bless her that’s just not a place to be with 3 kids.”
“Guys it’s not for lack of , it’s lack of housing!” penned a third.
Meanwhile a fourth said: “This is why we need more council houses being built.”
“This is the saddest thing a mother can go through,” claimed a fifth.
Someone else added: “It’s absolutely sad as hell that housing has become so unavailable and unaffordable in multiple countries now.”
