Bailiffs refuse to kick grieving disabled man out of council flat he was born in
Bailiffs refused to help evict a disabled man from the flat he was born in after the death of his mum.
Stephen Oakeshott, 54, has said he is being ordered out of his council home in after both his parents died in New Addington, Croydon.
The flat was in his mum Carol’s name, and was never passed on after she died unexpectedly two years ago.
But Croydon Council claimed they did not have the responsibility to house Stephen – who has mobility issues and learning difficulties – any more after his mum’s death.
He told Metro: ‘I am about to lose everything I have grown up with, it’s making me ill – I’m suffering fits and having panic attacks.
‘I am so scared, I don’t know what’s going to happen.’
Stephen’s mum Carol, whose name was on the tenancy, died in the flat two years ago after suffering a cardiac arrest.
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Croydon Council ordered him out of the home, but when bailiffs turned up last Thursday, they told Stephen ‘they couldn’t put him through it’.
Stephen said: ‘I was so nervous before they came, but when they arrived they said they were shocked the council was doing this to me, and they wouldn’t be going through with it.’
He has since been told a social worker will now be rehousing him in the next two weeks, but Stephen is desperately trying to stay in his home.
The council claimed that because Stephen was also registered to another address in Tottenham, he had to vacate the flat.
But he explained that the flat was closed up years ago when he moved back in with his mum after four years of living apart.
Stephen said: ‘I tried to explain to them that the flat is not usable because it was all closed up with the support of my mental health team when I needed to move back in with my mum.
‘But they wouldn’t listen, and now I am still being kicked out.’
Croydon Council told Metro: ‘Whilst we understand that this is a difficult and upsetting situation for Mr. Oakeshott, we want to clarify that he was not a named tenant at his relative’s home, and there was no evidence that he was living there during the relevant period to be eligible to remain in the property.
‘Mr. Oakeshott’s case was brought to court on July 19, 2024, where the judge granted an outright possession order, meaning the court determined that Mr. Oakeshott was not entitled to remain in the property.
‘We are also aware that Mr. Oakeshott is registered as living at a property in a different London borough.
‘We have communicated the reasons for our decisions to Mr. Oakeshott and have done our best to support him through this process.’
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