Hillingdon housing crisis forces mother and daughter to choose between Hartlepool and homelessness
‘You’re not high priority’: West London mother given impossible choice under Hillingdon Council homeless relocation policy
Soheila Serkani had lived and worked in west London for years before she found herself on the wrong side of the housing crisis. Last month, after being evicted from her private rented accommodation, she and her daughter were told by Hillingdon Council they would only be rehoused if they moved 275 miles away to Hartlepool.
It was a moment she describes as both surreal and devastating. “They told me they’d send us in a taxi,” she said. “No documents, just a postcode. Nothing about the area, no support, no choice.”
According to LDR reporter Philip James Lynch, who spoke extensively with Soheila, the only other option was losing their entitlement to housing support altogether. She refused the relocation on the grounds that it would cost her job, uproot her daughter from all mental health services, and effectively leave them stranded. “It’s not just about a roof. It’s about our whole life.”
Soheila’s daughter, now 19, is autistic and also diagnosed with ADHD and borderline personality disorder. Having spent years receiving support through CAMHS and now adult mental health services, her care is closely tied to her location. Soheila herself lives with chronic anxiety and depression and works at a local special educational needs school.
Despite providing medical evidence of their needs, Soheila said her housing officer dismissed her concerns and told her she wasn’t a high priority. “He spoke to me like I should be ashamed for asking for help,” she recalled. “Even if I can’t fix this for myself, I want people to know what’s happening in our system.”
The term ‘intentionally homeless’, a technical designation councils can use to discharge their duty, has come under scrutiny in recent years. When someone refuses an out-of-borough offer, like the one Soheila received, councils can legally stop supporting them. However, with rents rising across London and boroughs under budget pressure, that definition is starting to affect people in complex and difficult situations.
Some studies into out-of-borough placements suggest that the long-term consequences, especially on mental health, access to care, and employment, can be more harmful than keeping families in their local communities. A recent London Assembly question to the Mayor highlights the financial and social cost of relocating vulnerable residents across long distances, especially when local support networks are essential for wellbeing.
There is growing debate around whether this approach, while financially expedient, is socially responsible. For those interested in the wider implications of these decisions, recent analysis has shed light on how removing support networks can deepen poverty and trauma rather than resolving housing instability.
What frustrates Soheila most is the apparent lack of communication at every level. She says that ahead of her eviction, a caseworker told her to come to the council on the day she lost her home. However, that staff member was away when the day came and the replacement officer knew nothing of her situation. With no backup options and no temporary accommodation offered in the borough, she had no choice but to sleep on friends’ sofas while pleading for help.
The council maintains that relocations outside Hillingdon are only made when no local alternatives exist. Yet when challenged on whether there were truly no other properties for two people across the borough, they declined to comment on Soheila’s case specifically. A spokesperson said, “Due to the high demand for affordable housing across London this is not always possible… the vast majority of homeless households continue to be housed within the borough.”
Still, figures from last October reveal there were 130 vacant council properties in Hillingdon at that time and over 1,800 long-term empty homes. With more than 3,000 people on the waiting list, questions remain about how those assets are being managed in the face of growing homelessness.
Council Leader Ian Edwards recently described London as suffering an “epidemic of homelessness” and cited a collapse in the private rental sector. Speaking at a meeting of the Ruislip Residents Association, he said: “We then have a duty to house these 20 households each and every month, within the UK… usually away from London.” But for Soheila, the idea of being treated like a number is hard to take. “They say there’s no choice, but we all have choices, we just need a system that makes them human.”
For more updates on the housing crisis and how it’s affecting families across London, visit EyeOnLondon. We’d love to hear your views in the comments.
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