A grieving son has spoken out about being kicked out of the home he shared with his mum just days after her death.
Robert Jones is now locked in a battle to find a new council house after his beloved mum Margaret died from septicaemia aged 73.
Mr Jones who works at Tesco and has a second job to make ends meet has been told he can no longer live in the home they shared.
The 51-year-old had lived at the three-bedroom home in Stockport with his mum Margaret and partner for three months.
Mr Jones, who cared for his mum in the last weeks of her life, has been told he had to leave because he had not lived in the property for more than 12 months.
He is fighting to find a new place to live that accommodates his medical condition, which means he can't sleep in the same bed as his partner, but Stockport Homes that managed the council’s social housing, have rejected his application for a two-bed property.
Charity worker Mr Jones told the Manchester Evening News : “We did not have a chance to grieve for my mum. We went straight from her dying to a fight with the council.
"I thought we would be able to apply for succession to stay in the house. That was denied.
“It was Christmas Eve, they knocked on the door. The housing officer said ‘can you sign this, we are terminating your tenancy’. I wrote to the council to complain, and I appealed but they rejected it."
Mr Jones' mum Margaret died on December 8 and he had been her carer for the last few months of her life.
After her death, he has only faced more problems — with his application to succeed his mum’s tenancy at their Terrace home rejected by Stockport Homes.
He has also seen an application for a two-bed property with the housing group, to be shared with partner Tracy Leach, knocked back as well.
While Mr Jones, who works two jobs in a Tesco bakery and for a homelessness charity, is not facing losing the current roof over his head, but says he is battling a ‘flawed’ process.
He added: “We have zero housing points.
"If we were two adults applying for a place we would qualify for a two-bed, but as a couple we don’t.
"I think there’s a flaw in the system. I work two jobs, in Tesco bakery from 3am to 11am, then with Creative Support, a homeless charity, from 3.30 to 8.30pm. The cost of living has spiralled so much that’s what I have to do.”
A Stockport Homes spokeswoman said no legal action has been taken against Robert.
A statement said: “We completely sympathise with this resident’s recent loss and appreciate and support the important role of carers.
"However, there are thousands of people on the housing register awaiting rehousing, including many families in desperate need of scarce three bedroom properties such as this.
"This means that we need to follow housing law when looking at people succeeding to tenancies, which excludes those who are not partners and have only recently moved into a property before a bereavement
"We are not able to offer succession on tenancy to anyone who doesn’t qualify under the rules of succession policy and procedure.
"Housing law states that to be considered for social housing succession, a person must have lived in the property for 12 months or more.
“We pride ourselves on supporting all Stockport residents and even where people are unable to take over a tenancy we help explore alternative housing options.
"This can include offering a one bedroom flat for single people or couples left in a family property, but we appreciate that people may want more space and we are happy to help access accommodation in the private rented sector where supply is greater.
“While we can’t comment on individual medical cases, we seriously review all medical information in regards to how it impacts criteria for housing and will always re-asses any new medical information that a person provides."
