Mother-of-four faces eviction from safe house after turning down housing offer

A mother who fled an abusive relationship when she was pregnant is now facing eviction from her temporary accommodation. The single mum-of-four has turned down a direct offer of housing in December 2022 from Bristol City Council and is due to be evicted from the safe house she currently lives in by bailiffs next week.

The working mother, whose two youngest children are still under five, said she felt pressured to accept an apartment she believed was unsafe for her young children. The property was located up several flights of stairs with no elevator, and the front door opened onto a balcony below.

said Anna (not her real name). Bristol Live that the heating was not working and the flooring had not yet been installed when she saw the three-bedroom flat a week before Christmas 2022. Before she was offered the flat, the 39-year-old, who suffers from depression and physical health problems, bid on several properties through HomeChoice but was unsuccessful.

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Anna, who moved into her emergency accommodation three years ago, said: “Being pregnant gave me the courage to leave my ex-partner, I didn’t want to lose the baby. When I came to the property it was a huge challenge and with all my children, sometimes I don’t know how I managed.

“When they offered me an apartment, I had just had a baby at the time, I was mentally all over the place and physically exhausted. I asked myself then, “How are you going to do this every day? Are you already suicidal?

“I had a battle in my head but I thought I would win the appeal because I had good reason to turn it down and it was the only property I was ever offered.”

Anna, who has lived in the flat for the past three years, has been banned from bidding on any other properties after turning down the council’s initial housing offer 18 months ago. After a lengthy unsuccessful appeal process, she now faces eviction from her temporary accommodation next Tuesday (June 18).

The council wrote to her on 2 February 2023 stating that her case would be referred to Children and Young People’s services and informed her that “the council’s duty to you under homelessness legislation has now come to an end”.

In the same letter from Bristol City Council in February 2023, the local authority added: “You have no mental health therapy and no prescribed medication from your GP. You are not receiving any health benefits.”

The same letter also addressed the issues Anna had raised with the stairs in terms of difficulties in supervising her children, as well as carrying shopping and a double pushchair. He stated that her older children could also help the younger children to carry the pram, despite the fact that one of her older children was only six years old at the time.

The letter written by Anna’s housing officer said: “Once again, when you are doing your shopping or carrying your shopping bags around the house, constant supervision of your younger children is always necessary. In addition, your older children can help younger siblings when accessing the apartment or carrying the stroller.”

Before being evicted on Tuesday, Anna added: “They took everything from me, I have no strength left. I’m done, I feel like they’ve killed me and told me now social services are involved, there’s a possibility my kids will be taken away.

“They said, ‘You made yourself homeless because you turned down the offer.’ They told me it was my fault and I’m very upset because I don’t think it was ever my fault.

“I understand that as an adult you make some bad decisions in your life, but what about my children? They don’t deserve this, they should never have been put in harm’s way.”

Bristol City Council has been contacted for comment.