Croydon mum facing eviction told to live in Premier Inn

Katrina Sejdija, 49, has been served with an eviction notice so her landlord can sell her flat.

She and her teenage son cannot find a new home because the government cap on housing benefits is now well below the average rent.

Katrina says the council has suggested she move to the north of England. Its short-term solution is to put her and her son in a Premier Inn.

However, she will not be allowed to take her two cats.

“They say I have to get rid of them,” she said.

“One of them is my therapy cat. She sleeps with me. When I’m struggling, she rubs against me to calm me down.”

Katrina has a degenerative spine condition, asthma, long covid, anxiety and depression. She said one of her cats is her therapy cat and she cannot live without it (Image: Charles Thomson)

Katrina, a former English teacher, has been deemed unfit for work due to various physical and mental health conditions.

She said the stress of her housing situation triggered a mental breakdown last year and she is “petrified” about her future.

Health Problems

Already afflicted by a degenerative spine condition, Katrina then contracted Covid-19 and was left with Long Covid.

She now struggles with breathlessness and chronic fatigue and uses a walker.  

She is also undergoing investigation by cardiologists over a suspected heart problem.

“I struggle to move around much,” she said. “I have no energy.”

Former teacher Katrina said her health problems have left her unable to move around without a walker (Image: Charles Thomson)

The huge restrictions this has placed on her life have affected her mental health.

She has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

Once a homeowner with three jobs, she now barely leaves her house, cannot survive without state aid and is unable to even take a shower unaided, she said.

Mould

“They are fully aware of all my health problems,” Katrina said of Croydon Council. “They’ve had letters from my cardiologist, my doctors, nurses.”

She said she reported mould in her flat, near East Croydon train station, to the council last year.

But when the landlord said he planned to fix it, the council took him at his word. The mould is still there a year later.

There is a large area of mould growing on the wall of Katrina's teenage son's bedroom. Other walls were wet to the touch when Your Local Guardian visited last week (Image: Charles Thomson)

Had the council started looking to rehouse her then, said Katrina, it might have found somewhere by now.

Instead, she says it did nothing, only starting the search when she received her Section 21 “no fault eviction” notice.

In the meantime, rents have skyrocketed due to soaring interest rates, caused by Liz Truss and Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget last year.

Rising Rents

Average local rents now vastly outstrip the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) – the government cap on how much can be spent on rent for benefits claimants.

Croydon’s LHA for a two-bedroom property is £310.68 per week (roughly £1,240 per month).

Katrina's bathroom also has a mould problem. She reported it to the council, but was left in the property until she was served with an eviction notice. Now Croydon cannot find her a new home (Image: Charles Thomson)

But that was set based on 2019/20 rents.

The average monthly rent for a two-bedroom property in Croydon, based on those currently being marketed, is £1,914.

Rules ban Croydon from renting a properties dearer than the LHA.

But instead, it must put households up in hotels, which costs far more than the average rent.

“It makes no sense,” said Katrina.

The shower in the east Croydon home shared by Katrina and her son is full of mould (Image: Charles Thomson)

“Not interested”

Katrina is distraught by the thought of having to give up her pet cats.

“With my mental health, there are days when I really struggle,” she said.

“I’ve stayed indoors for a full week before. When I’m like that, my therapy cat is my company.”

She has told the council how vital her cats are to her mental health and how she will struggle if she is forced to give them up and live in a hotel room.

“They are not interested,” she said. “All they ever say is, ‘We are short of housing’.”

She also has no idea where she will put all her furniture and possessions, which she cannot take to the hotel with her.

Many of Katrina's belongings are already packed up in the living room as she waits for bailiffs to come and evict her (Image: Charles Thomson)

Her belongings are currently piled up in her living room as he waits for the bailiffs to kick her out.

“There is more in the basement but I can’t move it up with my walker,” said Katrina.

“The council said they could put it in a garage, but will it be safe? Will it get damaged? I can’t afford to replace any of it.”

Katrina added that the council would not cover the cost of moving her possessions to the storage site.

A Croydon Council spokesperson said: “The resident has been in contact with our housing services and we are continuing to explore ways to find suitable and affordable accommodation.”