A Croydon mum-of-three claims she has been waiting for the council to give her permanent housing for nearly ten years.

Crystal Poole grew up in the care system in New Addington and since 2016 has been in and out of emergency and temporary accommodation.

She is currently living in temporary accommodation she says is in “disrepair” and has called on the council to give her and her three children a proper home.

The 26-year-old chef told Your Local Guardian: “I’m a care leaver and when I left the local authority aged 18, I was put in as a homeless applicant and into an emergency placement.

“Then I fell pregnant with my daughter and was moved into a private one-bedroom flat in 2017.

“I stated that there were a lot of disrepair issues, but nobody did anything.”

(Image: Crystal Poole)

In 2022, Crystal moved into temporary accommodation in Waddon under a homeless application.

She added: “I’ve been here for two and a half years, and I’ve had the same problems with this property.

“But now this new landlord wants his property back and I’ve made the council aware of this.”

Crystal claims that the council has not responded to her, and she is still waiting on a housing application that has been ongoing since 2020.

Crystal has accused the council of a “failed duty of care”.

She added: “The council have been ignoring me when I’m going back and forth with them.

“I’ve told them that I spoke to the housing authority, but they’re not taking it seriously.

“They’re basically telling me to wait for a bailiff to turn up, and then come up to them as homeless.”

Crystal described the house she has been staying in as “unliveable”.

She said: “There’s water ingress and penetrating and rising damp.

“It’s affecting my daughter’s education and my kids’ health.”

(Image: Crystal Poole)

Crystal’s children are seven, four, and four months old, and she said the housing is “just not suitable for them”.

She added: “I’ve had to replace furniture. I bought new beds after the first ones were coated in mould.

“The condition of the property is causing rashes and reoccurring breathing issues, and the GP urged us to move out of the property."

As an adult, Crystal has never had permanent housing.

She said carers wanted to put her in a staffed unit, where young adults receive support while learning to live independently, but she refused because she didn't want to go back to "square one". 

After her refusal, the only option she was left with was declaring herself homeless.

Since turning 18, Crystal has lived in two emergency accommodations and two temporary accommodations.

In early August this year, she took part in a council housing bidding process, but found out the next day that she would not get the house she wanted. 

She said finding this out was tragic as she had already been issued an eviction notice and hoped that this new house would give her and her children a roof over their heads.

(Image: Crystal Poole)

She described the events as a “vicious cycle” after not having a proper home for the majority of her life.

A spokesperson for Croydon Council said: “We are committed to making sure that young people leaving care in Croydon are well supported and have access to a safe, secure and affordable home when they move to independent living.

“A private landlord served an eviction notice to our resident, in accordance with the terms of the licence agreement, stating that they needed the property back. 

“In response, our housing team is working with the resident to find her alternative suitable accommodation.

“We will secure alternative temporary accommodation ahead of any bailiff date being scheduled. 

“We will continue to support Crystal to make sure that any accommodation offered meets the needs of her and her family.”

Crystal said: “Realistically, all I want is just to be rehoused.

“When you’ve been in temporary or emergency accommodation for about eight to nine years, you would sooner or later expect a permanent offer or at least a final offer.

“And I still haven’t received that.”