Disabled woman 'exhausted' by months of housing limbo

A disabled woman has described being left "exhausted" after three months of hotel moves, claiming the council has repeatedly failed to offer her suitable accommodation.

Kerenza McSweeney and partner Luke told the BBC they were forced to leave their social housing in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, after problems with an aggressive neighbour.

After being advised to leave, the couple were placed in emergency accommodation and said they had since stayed in up to 15 rooms at numerous different sites.

Vale of White Horse District Council said it had offered all relevant support available and was working with the family, adding that "moving people on from temporary accommodation remains a priority".

Kerenza said she felt she had lost her independence. She was constantly moving her belongings, trying to cook using a kettle and having to get dressed at night to take her dog down in the lift to the toilet.

She is unable to work because of a genetic condition and relies on assistance dog Dexter to help her with daily life.

Kerenza said staying in a hotel was still preferable to being on the street but was "exhausting" when it meant "waking up in the morning and not knowing where you're sleeping the next night".

Vale of White Horse District Council provides a housing benefit to help pay for the accommodation but excludes bills.

This, Kerenza said, meant being in a hotel came with hidden costs.

"If you're staying at a hotel you go out for dinner and come back," she said.

"But if you're doing that for three meals a day - you've got no way of cooking food, storing food - it adds up in the cost as well."

Kerenza said they had been eligible for some of the properties on the social housing portal, but that none had been suitable to meet her needs.

She said some properties were perfectly suited to her needs and fully accessible, but she was unable to bid for them because they had age restrictions, such as those reserved only for over-55s.

"You wouldn't get that in a private setting," she said.

"Why should age matter?... It should be done on a case by case basis."

Simon Hewett-Avison, chief executive of Homeless Oxfordshire, said temporary and emergency accommodation "should very well be that".

He said: "We are seeing people that have been in hotels, bed and breakfasts for 12 months, 18 months, 24 months.

"Some of that might well be down to their particular needs or their requirements but the overwhelming reason for that is purely the lack of social housing.

"Over the last 30 years we have sold off or demolished our council houses at an astonishing rate and have not replaced or replenished those to anywhere near the level that we need to sustain our housing needs moving forward."

Vale of White Horse District Council said: "Increasing the provision of genuinely affordable, long-term homes remains a core focus of White Horse District Council's work to reduce homelessness and help people move on from temporary accommodation.

"Since 2024, for the first time in over 20 years, the council has once again become a social landlord to help those in most need within the Vale, with 18 homes purchased and more planned."