Petition Update – April 2025

Hello everyone,

I wanted to give an important update on my situation since starting this petition in January.

It’s now been over three months, and I’m still facing immense pressure from the council to leave my home — the place I’ve lived in for years and where I’ve been grieving the recent loss of my dad. From the start, the council has used delay tactics, avoided giving clear answers, and failed to handle things properly.

Despite being recognised as vulnerable, I was told to open a Housing Options application and start bidding on properties before the council had even carried out a proportionality assessment — which is supposed to look at whether it’s fair and lawful to force someone in my position out of their home. This added huge emotional stress when I was already overwhelmed.

To make things worse, in January, just weeks after my dad passed, the council sent a rent bill in his name — which I paid out of confusion and distress. They later admitted I shouldn’t have paid it, and I’m now owed £235.24 in housing benefit, which still hasn’t been resolved.

The housing manager even told me directly that I couldn’t stay in my home, saying, "Who’s going to pay the bedroom tax? You’re not working." This was incredibly hurtful, especially given that I had explained I could stay if the bedroom tax was supported — something the system allows for in cases like mine.

All of this has happened while the council has dragged its feet on making fair and compassionate decisions. They’ve failed to refer me for the proper support, refused to be transparent, and pushed me toward homelessness while knowing I’m still struggling to recover from personal loss.

I’m sharing this update not just to show how badly this has been handled, but to highlight how vulnerable people are being treated across the system. Thank you to everyone who has signed and supported this petition so far — your voice truly matters, and I hope that by continuing to raise awareness, real change can come from this.

With thanks and appreciation, 

John