‘They left me on the street’: Widow living in her car after council changes locks on her home

A 57-year-old widow has said she has been forced into homelessness by a council after it changed the locks to her home last week.

Joanne Howell, 57, was housed in temporary accommodation in Englands Lane, Camden, by Southwark council in May.

After the council changed the locks to her flat on Thursday evening, she has been staying either at a friend’s house or in her car. 

She said: “I’m homeless. I’ve had to put all my things at my friend’s and I am going to have to start sleeping in my car again.

“They emailed me on Tuesday to say they were changing the locks, I replied and tried to call but got no response.

“I have had no choice but to leave my home and become homeless.”

Ms Howell previously lived with her husband in Evan Cook Close, Peckham, but when he died in August 2020 his family inherited the house and Ms Howell moved to a private rental property.

Then in January 2023, her private rental was sold to a family and Ms Howell was forced to live in her car for four months until she was moved into the temporary accommodation in Camden by Southwark council.

Ms Howell, who works at New Cross bus garage, said: “I have been in my job for 24 years but I don’t have the money to rent privately. 

“I worked all through the pandemic ‘keeping London moving,’ and now I need help. There is no one to help me.

“The council put me on the help-to-rent scheme but landlords don’t wait six weeks to accept an offer and that’s how long these things take.”

The council told Ms Howell that she was not “needy enough” for temporary accommodation at the end of August. 

Since then, a council spokeswoman said Ms Howell has been allowed an “additional period of stay” in the flat while she made arrangements to move out.

Ms Howell said: “I just think the service is useless – their communication is awful, I’ve been on the phone for hours and hours and I don’t get a reply.

“I still have no choices – I have nowhere to live, there is nothing I can do. They have left me on the street.”

Councillor Helen Dennis, cabinet member for new homes and sustainable development, said: “We wish we were in a position to offer everyone a permanent home in the borough. 

“We have 200-300 households approaching us as homeless each month and with every household, we have to consider our duties to them under the law on homelessness. 

“Where they do not meet the statutory threshold for long-term support, we provide housing advice and let them know about their right to request a review of our decision. 

“This was the case with Ms Howell who has been provided an additional period of temporary accommodation while she seeks alternative arrangements.

“We urgently need to see drastic reform by the Government to fix the broken private rented sector, and an immediate decision to increase the Local Housing Allowance so that it is pegged to local rents.”

Pictured top: Joanne Howell (Picture: Joanne Howell)