Pensioner left waiting 13 years for social housing

Alec Doyle – Local democracy reporter

A pensioner in a local authority’s second-highest priority band for social housing has been waiting exactly 13 years for a property.

The older individual – whose identity is unknown but who is over 65 – was first put on the housing waiting list on April 25, 2012.

In 2018 they were moved up to band two – the second-highest of Wrexham County Borough Council’s five priority levels.

A Freedom of Information request has revealed that in Wrexham there are 50 people in the county borough’s top two priority bands who are over 65 and have been waiting for social housing for between one and five years.

Rehoused

In addition there are seven residents over 65 in those top two priority groups who have been waiting more than five years to be housed or rehoused.

These include Theresa Batty, an 82-year-old grandmother living in a social housing bungalow in Ponciau. She has been waiting since 2018 to be rehoused due to persistent damp and black mould which she says has made her breathing, heart and skin conditions worse.

“The council just don’t care,” she said. “They keep coming round to scrape off the mould and paint over it with special treatment, but the air is thick with damp and it’s hard to breathe. I just need to move to a more suitable home because I’ve had to live like this for years.”

The same Freedom of Information request reported that 3,104 Wrexham residents were waiting either to be allocated social housing or to be moved into more suitable social housing across all age groups and bandings.

Band one residents are prioritised due to medical need, risk of financial hardship due to under-occupancy and military discharge. They may also be care leavers or residents living in homes significantly adapted for disabled living which they no longer need.

Homelessness

Band two residents are considered a priority due to factors including living in unsatisfactory housing as assessed by Environmental Health, homelessness, families living in a flat in the county borough for at least two consecutive years with at least one child aged 16 or under, living in an overcrowded home, needing to move to access specialist medical treatment or a more suitable disability-adapted property, financial hardship due to housing costs or those who have accessed emergency homelessness support and are now ready to move into their own home.

In response to the data, Wrexham County Borough Councillor David Bithell, Lead Member Housing and Climate change said: “We have recently approved a revised Allocations Policy which went through consultation with contract holders, members and key stakeholders. This did result is some changes to banding for existing applications.

“The Housing Department is working extremely hard to build new council homes to meet rising demand. We are taking every opportunity working with partners and Welsh Government to secure additional funding to build new homes.

“We have also bought back 28 additional properties over the last two years, adding to our housing stock of 11,000 properties and refurbished three sheltered housing schemes with a combined 70 units between them.

“An additional sheltered housing scheme is due to complete in the early summer with a further 38 units.

“We are committed to building new properties and we have a number of new developments planned including six new council homes in Johnstown which are nearing completion.

“There are also plans to build up to 51 new council homes in Rhosddu and four in Derwent Crescent in Acton.”