A Nottingham mum and her three sons have been forced to live in a hotel after their home of almost seven years was sold. Last year Natasha Wagstaff was informed by her landlord that the private property she was renting with her children aged three, six and seven, was going to be sold.
She got in touch with Nottingham City Council in May 2022 after she received her Section 21, a notice landlords give tenants to leave the property, and was told that they would her find somewhere to live. However, a suitable home was not found and earlier this month Natasha and her children had to move out of their home.
Since Tuesday, April 11, they have been living in hotels and due to the limited resources Natasha explained that it's cost her around £170 just to feed everyone in the past week. The mum of three said: "I'm literally living day by day and trying to be strong for my kids, but it is mentally and physically draining.
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"It is awful, I could probably count on both hands how many hours sleep I've had in the last week." The family were placed by the council in a city centre hotel where they stayed for three nights, and have since been at the Doubletree Hotel on Nuthall Road, which they will be leaving on Wednesday, April 20 for another hotel unless their stay is extended or a suitable home is found.
The 31-year-old is living on the standard legacy benefits with her sons, one of which has recently been diagnosed with autism. She explained that he finds "it hard to regulate, finds it hard to sleep and it can be dangerous."
When asked about how she will find their next home, Natasha explained that she feels "fobbed off" by the council who have been telling her she needs to bid for a council house. She stated: "I've been bidding for the last three years and I bid every Friday."
Natasha claims the council will help her find a property but the rent cannot be more than £700 per month, which she says is difficult to find in Nottingham, especially when looking for somewhere safe for kids. She said: "The lady that was working with me through housing aid said they can get us money for a house we just need to find it, then the EMPAS team rang us the week before saying they could only pay for a house up to £700.
"I just feel like I'm being pushed from pillar to post and I can't find one." Due to her six year old's recent diagnosis, Natasha is also able to claim Disability Living Allowance for her son but as this is still processing, that additional income isn't able to be considered for housing.
Natasha added that because of her son's condition she ideally needs an outdoor space where he can "blow off steam." When asked about how they can play being in the hotel room, she replied: "If the weather permits, yeah I can go to a park with them but he can't be trusted at the side of a road as he doesn't see danger.
"When all three of them are in one hotel room it's like a little whirlwind has gone off, they want to play with one another but they haven't got the space to play so I'm having to try accommodate that. It's hard for me as I have to keep telling them to stop running about as people are underneath."
She continued: "I'm just petrified that one will be too loud and someone will complain and we're going to have to move, but how can I entertain three kids in a hotel room, they have always been three boisterous boys and all three have wild imaginations, they want to build dens and stuff like that. If he had his own room and space he could have a little den, but it's very hard and I can see it's affecting my eldest as well.
"It's affecting their dad as well as he always used to come to the house and see them. It doesn't just affect me and my kids, but the people around them."
Natasha explained that a standard three bedroom home with a small garden would cost around £825 to £850 in rent, and whilst the council couldn't pay that, she claimed it is costing the council around £1,000 a week to house her and her sons in a hotel for a week. She described the system as being "backwards."
She continued: "What they are paying for the homeless to put them in hotel, they could put towards people's rent to help them get a property, then we might not have the homelessness that we've got. Instead of spending thousands on homelessness why not use it to prevent it."
Nottingham City Council’s Housing Aid team help people in the Nottingham area who are homeless or threatened with homelessness. They can assist people in finding accommodation, keeping their existing accommodation, and provide advice on benefits, budgeting, keeping a tenancy and debt advice.
A City Council spokesperson said: “We have been working to support Natasha and her children for some time, and unfortunately were unable to prevent her becoming homeless in the first place. Just as with everyone facing this situation, we fully sympathise with Natasha and agree that hotel accommodation is far from ideal, especially for young families.
“We do all we can to avoid using hotels but unfortunately, a range of factors including the cost-of-living crisis and increases in rents in the private sector have placed more people in this position. We work with private sector landlords to establish affordable rents for people in these circumstances. We are seeking suitable alternative accommodation but we have 9,000 people on our housing waiting list and so options are limited. Often, arrangements with friends and family can offer better solutions until we can find affordable long-term solutions.
“Much longer-term, we are building more council homes and we have recently secured Government funding to buy six properties which over a five-year period will temporarily accommodate 48 homeless families who are in hotels.”
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