Lucy, a Barnet resident, recently popped into the Barnet Homes office with flowers and chocolates for her Tenancy Sustainment Officer, Patricia. Lucy wanted to thank Patricia for all the support that has enabled her and her 8-year-old autistic son to move into a new apartment in Barnet. Lucy describes her housing story below in her own words.
“I was living with my autistic son in private rented accommodation in Barnet. For six years of this time, I was dealing with a landlord who was always after more money. He knew my difficult personal circumstance, but each year he served with me with an eviction notice, and each year I went back to Patricia and her team as I was being made homeless again. Barnet Homes always helped me to sustain my tenancy, until the point that my housing benefits were maxed out.
“When you live somewhere and you are stressing constantly about your living situation it can be really damaging to you because there’s not much you can do – I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I don’t have many visitors because of my son’s reaction to them. I’m a single mum, paying my rent, being a good tenant, and trying to do the right thing, but I had no control over what the landlord was doing.
“It got to the point this year that when my private landlord served me with another eviction notice, Patricia said we can’t pay any more towards the rent because it’s outside of housing allowances. Patricia was really understanding and advised that although I’d have to leave my rented home, she would help look for longer term accommodation, something more suitable and stable for me. She had a new property in mind but needed to check. It was a leap of faith. We did all the official paperwork together and then I was offered a new home with a Housing Association in Barnet. I signed the lease immediately.
Last month I moved into a two-bedroom flat in a new build property. It’s got a large balcony with a safe, high rail which my son can’t climb over, which is reassuring because he hasn’t got any sense of danger. And the flat is just perfect – everything is brand new; everything is lovely. It’s well insulated and warm so I don’t have to worry about the heating costs – I think that will help us a lot. I still can’t believe that this actually happened to us because the situation with my previous landlord had been dragging on for years. But I’ve ended up being in such a positive situation, thanks to Patricia and the team at Barnet Homes! I know there were a whole lot of people involved in nominating me and I feel really thankful and happy.”
Patricia said, “It makes my job worthwhile when I can make a real difference to somebody’s life, especially making the child’s life a lot better. I’m so pleased that it’s a new beginning for Lucy and her son.”
If you are facing eviction or homelessness, please talk to our Tenancy Sustainment team, call 020 8610 3539.