A mother of three is homeless and sofa-surfing with her three children after Southwark Council moved her into a collapsing home.
And to make things worse, Southwark Dog Wardens found her missing dog Nigel, but have now rehoused him, causing her children massive heartache.
Terri Wiltshire, 44, moved into her Alma Grove home, expecting it to be “home for life” for her young family. Instead, she found a property with no radiators or warm running water, a decrepit kitchen and a collapsing kitchen ceiling.
Terri has spent the last two months shuffling her three children, aged sixteen, twelve and five, between friends’ and families’ houses, while waiting for repairs to be done.
Terri said: “It’s been awful. We haven’t got anywhere to live and it’s been so stressful for the kids whose school-life is suffering.
“I’m obviously upset and emotional. My grandad recently passed, and my nan, and my daughter’s nan and I don’t what else they can throw at us.”
Before moving in, Terri says she was assured the property had been inspected and signed off as habitable by the council. But when she moved in June, she was stunned when her foot went through her sixteen-year-old son’s bedroom floor.
Contractors were called and it emerged that the building, with its crumbling floorboards, broken electrics, and non-existent heating, was not only uninhabitable but structurally unsound.
Where her garden should be, the previous tenant has constructed three giant sheds stacked with rubbish like mannequins and rotting furniture, which she’s been paying to remove herself.
She says Southwark Council have offered her temporary accommodation in Guilfdord which she had to turn down because her family can’t afford the 53km commute.
They also offered her a Peckham Rye flat which “smelt of cat wee” and shared its bathroom and kitchen with unknown tenants in an attached property – which Terri says is unsafe for her young children.
Terri’s son’s 16-year-old Pomeranian pooch Nigel was confused by the constant moving, and went missing and was eventually found “halfway down the Rotherhithe tunnel”, according to Terri.
But while staying at a friend’s home Terri broke her ribs and, when paramedics arrived, anxious Nigel bolted outside again.
Southwark Dog Wardens found him and told Terri she needed to pay a “massive” £200 in kennel fees. But Terri couldn’t afford the fees and tragically, Nigel has now been rehoused with new owners.
Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle, who is fighting for the dog’s return, had asked Southwark Council to waive the £200 fee. He said: “The council’s policy needs to take into account whether everyone can afford massive kennelling during a time of economic crisis.”
The reason Terri couldn’t afford the £200 fee was because she is in rent arrears. This is because Southwark Council mistakenly told Universal Credit she lives in a four-bed rather than a three-bed.
With the confusion ongoing, she is only receiving universal credit for her old rental costs, significantly lower than that at Alma Grove.
So now she is in almost £2,000 debt and is worried she is going to be evicted from a property that, perversely, she can’t live in.
Contractors are now in the property doing repairs, which won’t be complete for weeks. Terri says a council officer has said she can move back into the property.
“How am I meant to look after my family in a house with no lights, kitchen, and just a couple of portable rings to cook food on?” says Terri.
Southwark housing boss Cllr Darren Merrill told the News: “In the current housing crisis, temporary accommodation within the borough is incredibly scarce. We hope that Ms Wiltshire will be able to move into her permanent home very soon. We can discuss her universal credit with her further to make sure the details are correct. The property does require some major works, which she needs to move out for, so we can turn the property a great, permanent home for her family.
“We will stay in touch with her to make sure all is resolved as soon as possible.”
WATCH: Massive funeral in Rotherhithe for local traveller known as ‘The Old King’