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HOUSING‘Big Issue saved the day.’ What happened after council told disabled man to make himself homeless
George Fielding has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. Rent rises have led him to fear he might lose his London home, but when he contacted Hammersmith and Fulham Council for support, he was told his options were to remain in the borough for another 18 months, or to make himself homeless. The council’s housing support service advised he could “write to your landlady and ask for eviction on the grounds that she can’t afford the adaptations you need”.
It was only after The Big Issue contacted the council that they apologised, and pointed Fielding to advice he is entitled to. They said they would use his case as a “training exercise”.
“Access to housing is so convoluted that even professionals don’t understand it,” Fielding told us. “How often do they offer the wrong advice to people in situations more acute than mine?”
After his follow-up, he has been told it’s likely he is entitled to a rent top-up, which may allow him to keep his flat. He added: “The Big Issue saved the day.”
His story prompted a wave of reaction among our readers, many of whom have shared similar experiences. Housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa said: “It is disgusting how disabled people are treated by housing providers including local authorities.”
A reader posted on Instagram, “They have said the same thing for me and my baby. They won’t help until we’re officially on the street.”
Fielding’s second-floor flat is the most accessible and affordable he could find amid the hellscape of private renting in London. But for a wheelchair user, it has its downsides.
“Every day I hope it isn’t the day the lift breaks or the fire alarm goes,” he said. “I can only live my life as a wheelchair user as freely and independently as I do because I live in London. As soon as you need to hop into a car to get a bottle of milk, life gets very restricting.”
But his rent has increased by 20% since he moved in and he is now at the limit of what he can afford. Fielding, who works with housing charities and is familiar with the pressures faced by local authorities, was speechless when the council told him he should consider making himself homeless.
“I didn’t respond for about 10 seconds, because I didn’t believe I heard it right,” he said. “I’ve got all of these situations goin
