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Search forSeven years on housing waiting list - then family miss out after going on holiday
Friday, August 08, 2008, 07:00
After waiting seven years for a bigger house, Steve and Lynn Johnson missed out on the home of their dreams - by 2,230 miles.
The Johnsons and their two sons had taken a rare one-week holiday to Egypt when they were finally offered the chance to move out of their small two-bedroom flat in Fawcett Road, West Croydon.
Croydon Council was offering them a nearby three-bedroom council house in Duppas Hill, Waddon.
But by the time they got back from the holiday the house had already been snapped up by another family.
Mrs Johnson, 43, received a text message from the council on July 25 asking if they wanted to view the vacant property on July 28.
“I thought it was a dream come true,” she said. “Finally we would have a proper family home.
“I sent a text back to say we would be returning in four days and would view it then but when we got back we found out the council had given it to someone else.
“I was heartbroken that we came so close to being housed.
“It's typical, you wait seven years to be housed and they call you the one week you are on holiday.”
In May, the Advertiser revealed how the couple's 17-year-old son Daniel, was crammed in a box room while his brother Brandon, 12, was forced to share a room with his parents.
Mrs Johnson said at the time: “Not having our own space, it is getting too much.
“How can you have sex when you have got a 12-year-old child in there? It does get me down, I just can't see any way out of it.”
Mr Johnson, 46, works servicing fire equipment, while Mrs Johnson has been a housewife since she was forced to give up her job as a dinner lady because of a back injury.
A spokesman said the council never received Mrs Johnson's reply saying she was on holiday which is why the home was offered to someone else.
She added: “When this particular property became available on July 23, an appointment was made for Mrs Johnson to view it on July 28.
“She was also texted a reminder of the appointment.
“The onus is on the tenant to tell us if they are on their holidays, but we would not hold on to empty properties anyway when we have many tenants in need waiting to move to larger accommodation.
“As Mrs Johnson is near the top of the list it is likely that she will not have to wait too long for another property to become available.
“She could improve her chances of a quicker move if she was to widen her choice of areas to which she is prepared to go.”
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN: Lynn, Steve, Brandon and Daniel outside the home they were offered a viewing for
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