“My son and I are being evicted – the bailiffs can kick us out at any time”

A single mother of one has spoken out about the harsh reality of the housing crisis as she faces homelessness with her little boy through no fault of her own. The family is to be evicted from the privately rented home, with the mother awaiting the dreaded contact from the bailiffs.

She said her landlord was “broken” and needed the property back as he was currently staying with his in-laws. But she said she could not afford the rent for another house and was struggling with the £725 monthly payment as it stands.

The working mum, who appealed to Solihull Council for help and bid on other properties for almost a year, said she was getting nowhere and faced being forced into emergency accommodation once they were evicted from their current home .

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“I’m still waiting for the bailiffs,” she said. “As soon as you get a letter, you have two weeks from that date, then they will knock. When the bailiffs show up to evict me, I’ll go into temporary accommodation.

“It could be anywhere from here to Wolverhampton, a hotel or flats, bedsits, shared accommodation; they don’t know until that day. I am a single parent, all this affects my health, the doctors put me on. the strongest anxiety pills and sleeping pills because I can’t sleep with worries.”

The mum, who lives in the Solihull area and works part-time to afford rent, bills and food, said her young son knew little about the changes and just asked: “Are we still getting a new house?” She said: “I’m not picky about what I move into, I bid on tapes. I have a son who has ADHD and all the other issues so I would like to be near his school, obviously it would be detrimental to him if he had to move schools.

“(In temporary or emergency accommodation), we will not be in one place, we will keep moving, and then because I have a child, if I go into a hotel, as long as there is a double bed, it can fit into it, that’s (considered) okay.

Staying with family or friends is not an option for the mum, but even if it were, she said it would be “against” her bids for council properties. Asked if there was anywhere else to go, she said: “No, but if you go to family members, you’re back in a low lane.

“So you’re not allowed to stay with family and friends. If they put me in Band D, it’s a five-year wait to find a property. It’s against you if you find a place to stay.”

The mum moved into her privately rented property, which was originally £625 a month, when she became pregnant with her son. She said: “The landlord has already put my rent up, I’ve got about £30 a week to live on – that’s my petrol, groceries, gas and electricity, my family helps me stay right and centre. I struggle to afford it. that (the rent), and they say “we can’t do anything”, they won’t help me until the bailiffs want to evict me”.

She said she would also have to get rid of her dog, which kept her company when her son slept. But she is far from alone in her struggles amid the national housing and cost-of-living crisis.

At the family court, she claimed “a whole floor” was assigned to deal with cases like hers. “There must be over 200 people out there waiting to be seen with their eviction dates, and the solicitor on duty I said, ‘It’s like that every day, every day.’

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