‘I’m being forced out on to the streets’
LORRY DRIVER FACES LOSING HIS LIFETIME HOME AFTER MUM’S DEATH
A MAN faces being forced out of the council house where he has lived all his life – just weeks after his mum died of Covid-19.
Ian Rhodes, a lorry driver, is struggling to come to terms with the loss of his mum and has been left in a difficult situation trying to make time to find a private flat.
But the 54-year-old, who’s been sent a “notice to quit” from Nottingham City Homes [NCH] – to leave the three-bedroom home by the end of the month, or the date when the tenancy expires after the four-week notice period – has been left fearing the worst.
He is awaiting a letter from NCH to inform him of his potential next steps but said he is concerned he’ll end up on the streets.
“They are putting me on the street. They are making me homeless,” he said.
“They are not offering anything, it’s just promises – not even a promise really.
“Until I get the letter I don’t think there will be any help. They have not been helpful.”
Mr Rhodes grew up in the house in Rose Ash Lane, Bestwood Park, with his parents Robert and Doreen Rhodes, who were the first tenants of the property.
They were both on the tenancy agreement, he said, but his dad died about 20 years ago, and the tenancy was transferred to the sole name of his mother.
His mum sadly died on April 3 at the age of 87, Mr Rhodes explaining that Covid-19 and irregular heartbeat were listed on the death certificate.
A spokeswoman for NCH has said that, in line with legal succession, council housing can only be passed on within a family once – and this has already happened in the case of Mr Rhodes.
She said other options were possible – if Mr Rhodes didn’t qualify for council housing the company would work with him to look at other options.
Before the initial lockdown last year, when his mum went into a permanent care home, Mr Rhodes said that when he contacted NCH to enquire about the possibility of him moving into a flat, one official told him this could be arranged.
Mr Rhodes, who pays rent for the house, said: “It was lockdown that stopped me from carrying it out.
“I spoke to her over the phone – we’d arranged for a day to get my name on the system.
“It would have been a City Homes flat.
“I explained the house was just too big for me on my own and my mum wasn’t coming home, she was put into permanent care.”
After the death of his mum, Mr Rhodes contacted NCH again to try and sort a flat but said he spoke to different members of staff.
But he said he was told he shouldn’t be in the house.
“I wanted to know what had changed – why I was not eligible for a flat,” he said.
“I’ve gone to them, they’ve not come to me. She just said each household is allowed one succession. Because it had gone from Mr and Mrs Rhodes to Doreen Rhodes, they classed that as a succession.”
He claimed he’d been informed by NCH that he shouldn’t have been told he could have a flat in the first instance – and said that one official told him “if I was on benefits, or had a child, it would be different”.
Mr Rhodes said: “I have got to empty it by the end of the month – I have not got a clue what I am doing.
“I had not seen my mum for over a year before she died. I don’t think I have come to terms with my mum passing away.
“The places I have looked at so far are a lot, lot more – £70-£80 more (on rent).
“I am too old for a mortgage and I do not earn that sort of money.
“I need a roof over my head for work. What they are doing is putting me into hardship.
“I can’t see where I’m going to be apart from on the street.”
The end-of-tenacy notice, issued on April 30, states if the tenant doesn’t leave the property the landlord must get an order for possession of the house from the court “before the tenant can lawfully be evicted”.
With his hours as a lorry driver, out and about all over the country, he said was struggling to find time to look for accommodation.
Mr Rhodes added he had no close relatives who he can stay with.
A Nottingham City Homes spokeswoman said: “We would like to offer our deepest condolences to Mr Rhodes for the recent loss of his mum.
“We are legally required to send him a written notice that brings the tenancy at the property where he is living to an end. “Council housing can only be passed on within a family once, as part of legal succession. “In Mr Rhodes’ case, this has already happened. Legal succession laws are in place to make sure that council housing is allocated fairly to those most in need, which is why we have eligibility criteria for people wishing to join the waiting list. “We are working with Mr Rhodes to explore the options with him. If he qualifies for council housing, then the matter will be considered by an independent tenancy management panel, which will make a decision based on all the evidence. This could mean alternative council housing.
“If Mr Rhodes doesn’t qualify for council housing, we will work with him to look at alternative housing options for him before he needs to move out.”
They are putting me on the streets. They are making me homeless Ian Rhodes