Homeless face ‘inhumane’ ultimatums by London councils

Applicants have been told if they do not accept an offer of accommodation they will effectively be on the street, even if the property is miles away. Illustration: Guardian Design/Christopher Thomond for The Guardian / Getty View image in fullscreen Applicants have been told if they do not accept an offer of accommodation they will effectively be on the street, even if the property is miles away. Illustration: Guardian Design/Christopher Thomond for The Guardian / Getty Homeless face ‘inhumane’ ultimatums by London councils Choice between living on the streets or moving hundreds of miles away faced by homeless people. Having fled sex trafficking gangs in Belgium and Manchester, the woman from Albania thought she was finally safe when she arrived in west London with her two young children. A single mother, she had been granted asylum in the UK and was ready to start a new life in the capital. But first they needed a home. She approached Ealing council for help, telling housing officers she would feel “completely hopeless and unsafe” anywhere outside the city, where she was receiving vital support. Three weeks later, Ealing council had found her a property – but it was more than 250 miles away in County Durham. If she refused to move, she would effectively be on the street. “When I saw [the location], it was really bad. I was crying a lot, shaking,” she said. “My older daughter kept saying, ‘what’s happened, mummy? What’s happened?’ I was crying because I was really stressed. I felt they didn’t care.” The woman, who cannot be named, won a legal challenge against the move in November when a high court judge ruled that Ealing council had acted unlawfully. View image in fullscreen A high court judge ruled that Ealing council had acted unlawfully in offering a woman accommodation 250 miles away. Photograph: Terry Harris/Alamy Ealing council said it recognised “the seriousness of the [high court] judgment and the importance of ensuring housing decisions fully reflect individuals’ circumstances”. It added: “We have taken on board the court’s findings and have strengthened our processes to ensure each case is assessed on an individual basis giving regard to vulnerability and safeguarding risks.” The Albanian woman is one of hundreds of homeless people who have been handed “inhumane” ultimatums by London councils in recent years in which they are forced to choose between living on the streets or accepting a property hundreds of miles away in some of the poorest parts of England. Charities say a number of London councils are acting unlawfully and targeting particularly vulnerable people, such as refugees or those who may not speak English, to get them off the books. When the Albanian woman raised concerns about moving to County Durham, Ealing council officers assured her there would be adequate support services for trafficking victims in the area. They emailed her two links to relevant services in Durham as proof – except, one was based in Durham, North Car