Mom could lose “the only real home she’s ever known” because of some little-known rules

A grieving mother faces homelessness due to a little-known housing rule that has her fearing for her family’s safety.

Seven weeks ago, Anna Martin’s mother died of bowel cancer just a day after her 79th birthday. Veronica Martin died in the living room of the home where she raised her children and shared with her daughter Anna and grandson.

Just days before her mother’s funeral, Anna was informed by Livv Housing that she would have to move and find somewhere else to live as she was not eligible to ‘capture’ the rent. As a result, Anna said she couldn’t grieve for her mother because of the stress and uncertainty.

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Anna sits in her mother’s favorite armchair in a living room filled with family memorabilia, including a large, framed photo of her mother on a coffee table. Just below are various presents given to Veronica on her birthday – all untouched because she was too ill to open them. They serve as a poignant reminder of how much she was loved and how deeply her loss is felt.

The Martin family has always lived close to each other. Before moving in with her mother, Anna lived around the corner in St Peter’s Close with her two boys and was grateful to be able to visit her mother for emotional support.

In 2018, the accumulated stress of maintaining a home as a single parent became overwhelming and she was forced to give up her rent and move in with her mother. At the time, Veronica was healthy, but over the past twelve months her health has deteriorated – accelerated by a fall that left her stranded.

Sadly, Veronica was diagnosed with bowel cancer and passed away in March of this year. The story is a harrowing one for Anna to tell as she was in the room with her mother when she died. She said: “Every family member I’ve lost has died in this house.

“There have been birthdays, anniversaries, births and deaths – many happy memories and some not so happy.

“The worry of losing our home means we can’t begin to grieve. We all feel numb. We can’t get anything.”

As her mother’s carer and having lived in the house for six years with her son, Anna assumed she would be able to take over the tenancy at Tudor View in Kirkby. However, just days after her mother’s death, Anna was informed of the “inheritance rights” issue and was told that she would have to find another place to live.

Anna said: “I didn’t know anything about ‘inheritance rights’ until after my mum died. We never thought about her death and just focused on our life together.

“When you’ve had a family in a house for so many years, why would you want to re-rent it when we need a house?”

Anna’s sister Tracy lives a minute’s walk away and they both rely on each other for support – especially now. Tracy has sleepless nights worrying about her sister’s future and how they will maintain their close relationship.

An aggravating factor in Anna’s case is her health. She is due to undergo major surgery this year and has been referred for a full hysterectomy – doctors said she will also lose her appendix. The recovery time for these operations is three months and Anna is worried about where she will be able to start her recovery. The uncertainty means she may have to postpone the operation and put her health at risk.

According to the Shelter website, succession means the right to take over a premises (or inherit it) when the tenant dies. The rental must be the primary residence of the successors when the relative dies and must have lived with the tenant for at least one year.

However, one of the technical aspects of succession rights is that they can only be enforced once. This can be problematic because there are numerous scenarios where the spirit of the rule is out of sync with the application of the rule.

Herein lies Anne’s problem, as the succession rights were given to her brother John in 2011, but he died in 2014. Even though Veronica died this year and no probate at Tudor View was actually passed, the property no longer has succession rights.

Furthermore, this technical exclusion means that Anna will be required to leave the property and apply to the housing register for a social tenancy, while Tudor View is struck off and offered to applicants on the same housing register.

Anna said the housing officer at Livv Housing has been kind and is working with the family to find a solution. Unfortunately, Livv Housing claims it is merely following the succession policy adopted by the vast majority of social housing providers.

Although the case is still under discussion, Anna has no right to follow the property and has been told she can only stay until May 20.

A spokesperson for Livv Housing said: “We are truly sympathetic to Ms Martin’s situation and are sorry for the recent loss of her mother.

“Housing legislation emphasizes that we can only grant succession to a secure tenancy once, and in this case the tenancy had already passed to Mrs Martin’s brother.

“We have a responsibility to address the significant demand for social housing across the borough and ensure that customers are supported with homes that suit their needs. We continue to liaise with the family to offer housing advice and assistance.”

There are calls in the housing sector to amend this legislation and allow statutory succession rights to be extended. In addition, some housing providers have adopted a ‘discretionary’ succession rights policy where the organization can grant approval based on the circumstances of each case.

Livv Housing has a similar policy which states: “A discretionary succession is where the person claiming the succession to the tenancy has been left in the property on the tenant’s death but has no legal or contractual right to succeed.

“They are asking us to exercise our discretion to let them remain as tenants: we are under no obligation to exercise that discretion.”

For the sake of her physical and mental health, Anna hopes such an exception will be made before May 20, when she faces leaving the only real home she’s ever known.

As we say goodbye to Anna, she tells us why she was motivated to call us and start her campaign. She said: “My mum always said ‘go to the paper, nobody likes bad publicity’ and that’s why I’m sharing our story.”

Anna and her family have started a petition in the hope of gaining support for their campaign to stay in the family home. You can show your support by visiting the website HERE.

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