I’m a mum-of-two and I face being out on the street after the housing association kicked me out when my nan died

A SINGLE mum fears she and her young daughters will be homeless after they were kicked out of her nan’s bungalow by the housing association.

Chloe Voss, 29, is trying to now find a home to raise her two kids and her nan’s dog but claims Leicester City Council’s offers are unsuitable for their family.

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The family lived in a bungalow in Leicester with Chloe’s grandmother, who they used to care for.

The gran passed away in February 2021 – almost a year after Chloe’s uncle also died.

Following the death of her nan, the housing association told Chloe she couldn’t live in the bungalow anymore because it was meant for a disabled resident.

She was advised by the council to live in the bungalow until she was evicted by bailiffs.

The council then moved the family into a hotel before giving them a temporary two-bedroom flat.

Chloe tried to fight the case in court but she lost.

She told LeicestershireLive: “I didn’t know what I was going to do – I can’t just be homeless, I’ve got my two girls and my nana’s dog to care of.”

Although the council has offered Chloe and her girls three homes, she says they were unsuitable.

She said: “I understand that the council have a difficult job of housing people, but I’ve been offered places that are completely unsuitable.

“One was a flat in the same building as an abusive ex-partner, and another was so far from my daughter’s school we’d have to change her school.”

Chloe’s daughter has been struggling with accepting the death of her great-grandmother, who she was also close to.

The teachers at her school admitted that the 11-year-old has “changed” and also tried to reach out to the council to help out the family and find a suitable home.

Chloe said: “I don’t think the council really understands what we’re going through – we’ve had two devastating losses in such a short space of time and even the school has noticed how my daughter has changed.

“The school has even written letters to the council to explain.

“I don’t think they realise how detrimental it would be to my daughter if she had to move to a new school now.”

The council tried to help out Chloe by finding a house close to the train station, so that it’ll be easier to get to her daughter’s school.

But when Chloe visited the area, it was in an environment in which even she was “too scared” to get out of her car.

Chloe said: “There were druggies and people drinking outside the house.

“Maybe if I wasn’t on my own it would be fine, but I didn’t feel safe with just me and my girls.”

Chloe tried to look for property herself, with the hope of finding something more suitable to raise her family in.

But she doesn’t get far and is finding it difficult to secure a house.

“I don’t know who to turn to, I just feel stuck,” Chloe said.

A city council spokesperson explained how they are doing their best to find a home which is seen suitable for Chloe, but this is not always possible.

The spokesperson said: “Chloe is not being evicted and no eviction notice has been issued to her.

“As she is in temporary accommodation, her case falls under homelessness legislation and this means we have a legal duty to remind her of the consequences of refusing suitable offers of accommodation.

“Our legal duty to Chloe is to offer her a place to live in Leicester; we have in fact offered her choices.

“We understand that it is difficult with schooling and that people want to live in certain areas, but unfortunately we cannot always accommodate these wishes.

“Although Chloe is in band 1 – our highest priority for housing – there may still be others who have been in band 1 for longer who would take priority.

“We are currently looking at Chloe’s reasons for refusing the third property she has been offered to see if her reasons are something we are legally able to take into account.

“If Chloe has safety concerns, she can discuss these with us.”

If you are looking into applying for council housing, you can do so using the government website.

You will be put in a waiting list and treated by the council’s priority.

Every council has its own policies and regulations.

To find out more information on council housing in your area, you should access the government website, search for your local council and it will direct you to the right place on where you can access the latest.

You would be given more priority if you are at risk of becoming homeless like Chloe, or live in cramped conditions or have a medical condition which is worsened by your current home.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic, waiting lists could double in 2022.

Also, if you keep rejecting offers from the council, they might start lowering you on their list or even removed if you keep refusing to take any of their offers.

You should also consider looking at some charities if you cannot reach an agreement with the council.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk