A MUM-of-three has been forced to sofa surf for months after she and her kids were given just 30 minutes to leave their temporary home arranged by the council.

Izabela Kikosicka, 36, feels there is “no way out” after she was kicked out of her the accommodation in Erith, Kent, last November.

She claims she and her kids, five, 10, and 13, had no idea they would be told to pack their things, moments before enforcement agents changed the locks and they were kicked out for good.

And Izabela says Waltham Forest Council, who arranged the accommodation for her in the London Borough of Bexley when she was made homeless three years ago, have now "washed their hands" of her situation.

“I don't understand how they can put someone on the streets and not care what is going to happen,” she told The Sun Online.

“I was not aware they were going to change the locks in the temporary accommodation so it was obviously a massive shock.

“I was told I have to go to Waltham Forest Council but they said ‘no you have to go back to Bexley’."

She added: "There's just no reply, no nothing. The council has not contacted me. They have washed their hands of me."

Most read in News

Izabela, who works as a cleaner while training to be a midwife does not fully know why she was kicked out.

She says the council told her it was because they had "discharged their housing duty" towards her after offering her a home 140 miles away in Derbyshire back in 2020.

Izabela said she did not accept the offer at the time because it would mean moving her kids away from their school, family and friends.

But now, she is having to burden pals by sleeping under their roof every night.

"The council say I got kicked out because they discharged their duties so they cancelled the accommodation," she explained.

"I’ve been sofa surfing with friends from roughly November 30.

“All we have is our clothes, everything else is in storage.

“It feels like there's no way out."

It feels like there's no way out.

Izabela says Bexley London Borough Council, the local authority for Erith, also denied any responsibility for her case.

An email sent from Bexley Council on November 22 told her “you have no local connection with this local authority” despite her children attending school there since 2018.

And the desperate mum feels she is in a “weird circle of unknown” with no idea how to find somewhere else to live. 

Izabela explained: “The amount of constantly trying to find somewhere is exhausting.

“The council said it wasn't them that evicted me, they said it was the estate agent and basically that I'm going after the wrong person.

"I feel like my life is falling apart. I am very worried for my kids. I can't even really say anything to them because I don't know myself."

Cllr Louise Mitchell, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness Prevention at Waltham Forest Council, said: “It’s a national scandal that benefits and wages don’t cover the cost of rent in London.

"We do everything we can to help families find stable homes when they are in an emergency.

“When we help families at risk of being made homeless, we cannot place them where they can’t afford to pay their rent and buy day-to-day essentials.

“We are proud of our housing record. The borough is undergoing the largest programme of homebuilding in a generation.

"We are doing everything we can to get as many new homes built at a rent people can afford. We call upon the Government to do more to tackle this crisis that affects millions up and down the country.”

A spokesperson for Bexley London Borough Council said: "It is not our policy to disclose or discuss people's personal circumstances in the media."

Since this story was published Izabela has managed to find a home to rent in Erith, with the help of friends.

Source: Read Full Article