Homeless kids ask mum 'where will we sleep now' as family-of-six evicted from Alum Rock council home

Mum Kelly Rees and five kids now squeeze in one bedroom at a relatives' house after Birmingham city council 'changed the locks' on temporary home

A mum and her five kids were evicted from their temporary home and given a week to collect belongings as Birmingham city council 'suddenly changed the locks' while they were out. Kelly Rees, who claims she was given no notice, was left 'distraught' as her worried kids asked: "Where will we sleep now?"

Now homeless, the 36-year-old and her children, aged 17, 16, eight, seven and two, squeeze onto air beds and pull-out sofas in a bedroom at her ex mother-in-law's home in Balsall Heath. The family were evicted in May when the authority accused them of 'abandoning' their house in Reginald Road, Alum Rock.

Kelly claims problems arose when her children would become poorly from 'mould, damp and bug-infestations' at the house. Four of her kids suffer with asthma and the youngest child developed a skin condition when she began crawling on the 'bug-ridden' carpet, she claimed.

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Grateful for a 'roof over their heads', she explained they kept quiet about the issues, fearing complaints would only see them moved back into much-worse hostels. Instead, she said they would sleep at her baby's dad's home or ex mother-in-law's on the 'odd occasions' when they fell ill.

However during a visit in September, the family were told they needed to "look like they were staying there" - or face losing the property. Amid eviction fears, she claims they would then drive from Balsall Heath to sleep at the temporary property 'every night' until May 17 - when they were informed of the lock change.

She recalled: "I was picking my kids up from school on the Friday, and I had an email off this support worker who had come around previously. She said: 'Look we've been in today and changed the locks on your property, I've got reasons to believe you've abandoned the property, you're not replying to your landlord and giving him access, you've got seven days to collect your belongings.

"There was no section 21, no section 41, no notice, no nothing. It was just a quick thing, she'd gone in there and changed my locks. I was distraught, my kids were like: 'What the hell? All of our stuff is in that house, where are we going to sleep now, what are we going to do?'"

Inside family's temporary home with 'damp, mould and bugs' before eviction

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Weeks before, the landlord had asked for a gas engineer to visit the property, but due to only staying there overnight, and the kids having to be dropped and picked up from school in Balsall Heath, they initially couldn't find a week day for the visit, Kelly claimed.

She explained: "In the end they turned around and said 'because you haven't given us a day, and it's been 21 days since we asked you, we are going to take it up with the council.' Then a week later, we were evicted."

The family returned to collect their items and have asked that the eviction is reviewed by the council. "I said: 'You've made a mistake and just basically put me and the kids on the street,'" she added.

"I'm just stuck in a rut at the moment, my kids are now sleeping on air beds in my ex mother-in-law's house, my baby's grandma. We're all living on top of each other.

"I did phone the temporary accommodation to say 'her house is very overcrowded.' She's got two grandchildren come to live with her there on top of us as well; it's a very small three-bedroom house.

"My children just deserve their own beds now. We're all in one room, we've got air beds there and two sofa beds that we pull out and just make do at the minute. Our only other option would be to go into another hostel or B&B." The family, who 'fled abuse' in Wales, were initially placed in the Ladbrooke Hotel for six months before their move to the Alum Rock property in December 2021.

A Birmingham City Council spokesman said in their case, processes were followed to ensure the property could be "made available for another family in need." Temporary housing, provided by third parties, undergo building safety compliance checks before families are moved there, with damp and mould issues "escalated immediately" if reported, the authority added.

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Their statement read: "The Council has a responsibility to maintain standards across its temporary accommodation, whether it is owned or provided by a third party. It also has a responsibility to ensure that its limited stock is used for those families who are owed a duty to be housed.

"As an individual family’s needs will change over time, we will regularly review whether there is still a housing need. If the circumstances of the family have changed, or the property is no longer being used as their primary home, we will follow processes which will ensure that the property can be made available for another family in need.

"In the case of this family, we can confirm that due process was followed.”

Have you been affected by this? We would like to hear from you. You can contact us by emailing stephanie.balloo@reachplc.com