Cottsway: Housing mix-up leaves mum homeless with boxes in the car

Redlands Grove has slowly taken shape near Wanborough over the last 12 months, and a number of homes have been made available for social housing purposes. 

The mum-of-one, who asked to remain anonymous, had successfully bid on a house there and was all set to move in March, with her child and all of her belongings in the car,

She then discovered the home had been adapted for a wheelchair user, and after bringing this up, it was taken away from her, leaving her upset and with nowhere to go. 

After making a formal complaint, Cottsway, the housing association involved, initially told her that they would not be taking it further and she would need to complain to the Ombudsman if still unhappy. 

It has since issued an apology for "The inconvenience and distress" and has vowed to make changes to avoid this happening again. 

The mum said: "My whole experience with Cottsway has been an absolute disaster."

She was successfully nominated for a property in Redlands Grove back in December, and after a series of communication issues with Cottsway was told she could move in on March 23. 

"I paid my upfront costs after receiving a text at 9.30am the night before asking if I had made payment and arrived at the property at the arranged time, to view and sign for the house and receive the keys but I realised that that it was adapted for a wheelchair user."

The home had a height-adjustable worktop and hob with space for an eye-level oven and a through-floor lift if needed at a later date.  

"I raised this concern and was told that even though I wasn’t a wheelchair user I could either 'take it or leave it' and I had no choice but to say yes.

"I was then told that I didn't have the property anymore and I just stood there with my son, all my boxes in the car, crying. I asked what I was supposed to do and I was told that I needed to go to the council and there was 'nothing that Cottsway could do'".

Left with no other options, she was forced to call her previous landlord and beg to be allowed to return to her previous home and she was fortunate to be able to do so. 

The property in question was then put back up for bidding, and she was able to make a bid on it still and was told she was now the 'second' person in the queue. 

Wendy Hardy, head of housing at Cottsway, said: “We are very sorry that the letting process did not go as smoothly as we would expect, and this situation has occurred.

"The property was specifically built to accommodate a wheelchair user’s needs and this information was not highlighted fully when registered as available. As soon as we realised our error the property was withdrawn, and applications were reopened.

“We understand how upsetting it is for [the lady in question] that she was not been able to move home as anticipated and apologise profusely for the inconvenience and distress caused.

"We will work closely with the local authority to see what changes can be made to our lettings process when advertising adapted properties in order to avoid this situation reoccurring in the future.”

Cottsway says that the initial payment that had been made for the property had also been refunded.