Devon housing crisis: Family forced to move six times in five months

Charlotte Cheshire says the stress of looking for a home led to hair loss

A family from Devon has spoken of their battle to find an affordable home and the reality of council-funded emergency housing.

Charlotte Cheshire, mother to 16-month-old Sydney, said they had moved six times since leaving their rental in October 2023.

She said a North Devon Council (NDC) review deemed her "intentionally homeless" but she refuted this.

The council said it could not comment on individual cases.

It said housing officers "continue to work with those who may have been found to be intentionally homeless with advice and information in securing alternative accommodation".

Ms Cheshire, 29, has shared her experiences of living in temporary accommodation in diary entries for the BBC.

In her account, she detailed how she moved six times after leaving a previous rental which she claims she had to leave while repairs were carried out in October 2023 - first into a series of placements organised by NDC before sofa-surfing at her grandmother's and her partner's family.

She said the stress of the situation had caused hair loss and she now wears a wig.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody - this has been the worst year of my life," she said.

"People say: 'You'll find somewhere soon,' but I'm not sure they realise how the feeling of instability affects you, especially with a young child."

• Can my landlord put up my rent, keep my deposit or evict me?

'I felt scared' - a mum's diary entries

The rental

"I was living in Barnstaple in a flat with my partner, a plumbing and maintenance engineer and our baby Sydney.

"I was on maternity from my job at a toyshop when we had to move out of our rental and contacted the council for help and advice because we couldn't find somewhere else we could afford.

"We were due to leave on October 20 2023.

"The council said we could go to a B&B in Ilfracombe, with one bedroom and a shared fridge."

The family moved their belongings into storage

The B&B

"We moved into the B&B in Ilfracombe in October 2023, there were cameras everywhere, the stairs were so steep I needed help with Sydney's pram.

"Sydney had nowhere to play, we were all sitting in our beds, eating microwave meals. It was not suitable for a child.

"I was signed off work with stress and the house hunt continued.

"I ended up quitting my job, I couldn't work it to get Sydney to nursery and me to work because we were in Ilfracombe.

"My hair started falling out with the stress, I shaved it and started wearing a wig.

"On 12 November, we were placed at a holiday park."

The family spent three months living at a holiday park

The holiday park

"It was so uncertain - we didn't know if the council was going to come and kick us out.

"There were three flights of stairs with Sydney's pram and a no visitors rule means I felt so lonely a lot of the time.

"We keep looking for rentals. I've seen a lot of two-bed places for £1,200 or even more, there isn't a lot for £800, which is what we would need to have.

"Then we got an email from North Devon Council about the decision we were intentionally homeless.

"They said we had 28 days to find our own housing.

"We carried on looking, we went to daily house viewings, Kenny was taking days off work.

"Every time we found something we could afford there was someone else who could pay six months in advance, we couldn't.

"On the day we had to leave, I felt scared, worried, we packed up our stuff, handed our keys in and we were at a dead end."

Charlotte says they didn't hear where they would move to until the last day at the holiday park

Hotels and sofa-surfing

"On 9 February we were moved to the Premier Inn for three nights and then we went back to the office and they sent us to a Travelodge for two nights.

"After that the council said we were on our own, they couldn't help us any more.

"Now, I'm staying with Sydney in my nan's lounge in her one-bedroom flat and Kenny is sofa surfing.

"It's had a big impact on our relationship and Sydney, she's not settled, she's confused.

"Some days I get so upset just thinking I want to find somewhere, it's been five months without a stable home, and it's been a month since we started sofa surfing.

"I think there needs to be more support for people like us, more people we can talk to to get advice.

"But we'll keep looking for a home for our family."

The number of children like Sydney in temporary accommodation has more than trebled since 2019

'Increase in demand'

NDC said its housing officers "make every effort" to ensure families who require temporary accommodation are placed directly into self-contained accommodation.

"However, due to the increase in demand there may be short periods where families may be placed into BB style accommodation," it added.

The number of families in urgent need of housing has increased, according to government data.

The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said there were 109,000 households, 69,680 with dependent children, in temporary housing on 30 September 2023 - the latest data available.

It is the highest number of households in temporary accommodation since records began in 1998.

"We recognise the cost-of-living pressures that tenants are facing, and that paying rent is likely to be a tenant's biggest monthly expense," it said.

It said it had provided £104bn in 2022-2025 to help people with rising bills, while the Renters (Reform) Bill would deliver a "fairer private rented sector for both tenants and landlords", abolishing section 21 evictions.

It said a £11.5bn affordable homes programme was "delivering tens of thousands of new homes to buy and rent across the country."