“My landlord wanted me out so he could increase the rent. I’ve always rented privately but I can’t live here now.”
Amber has been living in temporary accommodation with her daughter for several months. She had to move out of her private rented home as her landlord wanted to sell, so she received a no-fault eviction notice.
She is currently in a caravan on a busy holiday site. They have two therapy dogs but have been asked to rehome their pets. She has already had to rehome her cats.
“My pets are my life. My care coordinator and therapist wrote letters outlining the importance of my pets to me. The council told me to put them in kennels if I wouldn’t rehome them and I’d have to pay. They just expect you to cast them aside.”
Amber and her daughter told us that living in the caravan is worsening their mental health conditions. Amber has PTSD and is severely claustrophobic, since being in temporary accommodation she has had panic attacks in the shower due to the size of bathroom. There are often noisy and intoxicated groups of holidaymakers on the site who make the two women feel unsafe in the caravan. They have been verbally harassed and had people knock at their windows or kick their door.
Last year, over 4,000 households left temporary accommodation without having been offered a permanent home. Our conversations with Shelter Cymru clients show us that there are others like Amber and her daughter who do not feel safe in temporary accommodation. Some of these people will take the decision to leave temporary accommodation and instead move into hidden homelessness by sofa surfing or living in vehicles.
Shelter Cymru are working with Amber to appeal for a move as her temporary accommodation is not suitable for her and her daughter. She continues to look for private rented accommodation but has struggled to find anything within their budget locally.
Many people across Wales have been made homeless due to rising rents from private landlords. We need more social homes so that families like Ambers can have have a safe foundation to build their lives.
You can help by signing our letter to the First Minister of Wales asking her to make sure that the Welsh Government are taking all the steps possible to provide the homes we need so that families like Steve’s aren’t trapped in unsafe and unsuitable temporary homes.
At Shelter Cymru we believe everyone in Wales should have the right to a safe, secure, suitable and affordable home. It is the foundation for the health and wellbeing of people and communities. Home is everything.
