A grieving Bermondsey mum who lost her baby – days after becoming homeless – says Southwark Council has inexplicably blocked her from applying for a new home.
Heartbroken Rachel Granger, 30, who is still reeling from the death of her daughter after a premature birth, has a rare blood condition that made her pregnancy “high-risk”.
The mum-of-two, who is now sofa-surfing between friends and family, feels let down by the council, which she says refused her midwife’s requests to move her to more suitable accommodation.
Her nightmarish tale is a personal one, but also demonstrates the severe lack of temporary accommodation in Southwark.
Rachel said: “It’s been empty promises from the council. When I was pregnant, I said I have to be in Southwark because of my medical condition – to be close to hospital and my family.
“It’s like nothing was taken into consideration… now I’ve lost my daughter and now I’ve got nowhere to live .”
Rachel’s nightmare began in the summer of 2021, when she was placed in temporary accommodation above a pub in Leyton with her two children, aged six-months and four.
“It was horrible. It was above a pub and I didn’t feel safe in the area,” Rachel said.
She added: “I’d just had a c-section. I don’t know how I was meant to get up three flights of stairs with a buggy and two kids.”
In October 2022, while in the Leyton accommodation, Rachel found out she was pregnant with her third child.
Desperate to be closer to her family in Bermondsey, and St Thomas’ Hospital given her dangerous blood condition (Antiphospholipid syndrome), Rachel begged Southwark Council to move her back to the borough.
Her midwife was also concerned by her predicament and wrote to Southwark Council urging it to move Rachel. But the council refused her request and Rachel was holed up in the Leyton flat with her two young children.
In February this year, Rachel says her landlord gave her an eviction notice but was not obliged to say why.
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After receiving the notice, which said she’d have to quit the property in a month, Rachel immediately called Southwark Council. According to her, the council incorrectly told her that she should call back on the day she had to leave the property and they would immediately find her new accommodation. But when the time came, Southwark Council could not find her temporary accommodation leaving Rachel homeless.
Just four days after being booted out of her home, Rachel went into labour several months premature. Due to her blood condition, there were complications with the birth. Her daughter was born on February 14. Tragically, she died on February 22.
While Rachel was in hospital, her cousin reportedly called Southwark Council to emphasise how desperately Rachel needed new accommodation.
Apparently, the council officer was very uncooperative and said ‘what do you expect me to do about it?’.
The officer also reportedly told the cousin that Rachel has to make a new housing application but failed to explain why this was necessary.
Now in June, Rachel is sofa surfing between her family members’ homes. For some reason, her housing account is inactive and nobody at the council can explain to her why.
“I’ve lost my daughter and now I’ve got nowhere to live,” she said.
The Liberal Democrats’ North Bermondsey Councillor Rachel Bentley said: ““Rachel’s case is particularly upsetting with the distressing loss of her baby and the impact upon her other children.
“Last year, Southwark Council unanimously declared that housing is a human right but all too often the UK’s broken housing system leaves people in unsafe and dehumanising situations.
“If Southwark is serious about doing things differently, then it must prioritise the basic human dignity of all residents who ask for help.”
Southwark Council does however face a severe shortage of temporary accommodation which makes it hard to place people in the borough.
In 2021, the council said placing people in temporary accommodation had become “almost impossible” because the number of social rent lets had fallen 38 per cent over the preceding five years.
To plug a funding shortfall from central government, the council halved its emergency temporary accommodation funding from £2 million to £1 million in February’s budget.
Councillor Helen Dennis, Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said: “I wish to offer my deepest condolences to Rachel at this difficult time. “Sadly, we continue to have to make difficult decisions about housing which forces us to look outside the borough to find suitable temporary housing.
“Although we do our utmost to house people nearby, we cannot guarantee a placement in a specific part of the borough. At the time, the property was available to return to and we offered alternative accommodation but unfortunately no agreement was made. We have the utmost sympathy for Rachel’s situation and we will continue to do our best to support her as much as we can.”
