Client lives in temporary accommodation in Harlow ….

Client Profile: Client lives in temporary accommodation in Harlow with her three young children. Client was placed there in 2018 following a homeless application made to a London Council.  Client had no option but to leave her support network, schooling and healthcare connections and move to Harlow, an area she was not familiar with.

Reason why client needs advice:

However, since moving to Harlow she has worked hard to create a life in the area, moving her eldest child to a local school and finding health care support for her youngest children who both have additional needs. 

The temporary accommodation she was placed in is within a Permitted Development site. This means that the building was primarily used for offices and then converted to flats without having to obtain full planning permission. This is a common building use throughout Harlow and often brings to light issues with suitability. The main issue in this case was that our client had severe mould and damp throughout the flat caused by penetrating damp from the leaking roof. This, together with the poor ventilation in the flat, meant that the family were suffering from poor health. The water ingress became so severe that the family had to sleep in the living room on a mattress on the floor as the water was dripping from the ceilings into the beds. The client complained to the property management company on several occasions and to the London Council themselves, but nothing was done. The client came to us and asked for assistance.

What we have done to help the client:

The Council accepted a suitability review in relation to the property under section 202(1)(f) of the Housing Act 1996. We put together a submission including evidence gathered from the Client’s Housing file obtained from the Council.  

Outcome:

The review was successful which meant that the London Council accepted that the current accommodation is not suitable for the family’s continued occupation, and they have agreed to rehouse the family in alternative accommodation and will arrange a transfer as soon as a suitable property becomes available

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Our client was a joint council tenant with his partner ……