A GRIEVING woman facing eviction says she is desperate to stay in the council house where her family have lived for nearly 60 years.
Janice Brown, 56, moved from her home in Kent back to her father Reginald Kitchener’s three-bedroom house in Bolingbroke Road last December when he became too ill to look after himself.
Her marriage broke down after she moved back to provide round-the-clock care for her father, who was dying from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
When her 89-year-old father tried to transfer the tenancy to his daughter, he was told that he would need to live for another year.
But he died this June, and Mrs Brown and her daughter Gemma have now been told to move out of the house by Boxing Day.
She said: “Dad wrote them a letter and said I’d given up everything to come and look after him. They said he would have to live for another year.
“When he was near the end he just wouldn’t let go, and I said to my sister, ‘Do you think it’s this house?’
“So I said to him, ‘Dad, the council have rung today to say that I can stay,’ and 40 minutes later he died. He just wanted to know I would be OK.”
Luton Borough Council says the house is too big for Mrs Brown and Gemma, 24, but current housing policy states a spare bedroom is allowed.
“We have family staying over a lot so that bedroom is used,” said Gemma.
The pair have been told they have to bid for a new property, and could end up having to live outside Luton.
“I was born in this house and lots of the neighbours are still the same, you don’t get that in other places,” said Mrs Brown. “We all help each other out round here, there’s a real sense of community in Farley Hill.
“But haven’t even put the Christmas decorations up because I don’t know what’s going to happen. Dad loved his garden and wanted his ashes scattered out there, but I can’t do that if we’re going to have to leave him. I can’t even give him his last wish.”
Mrs Brown says she has had so much support from other people in Farley Hill that she is now considering putting together a petition to hand to the council.
“I feel that if I just walk away I will have let my dad down,” she said. “He was always a fighter and I feel I’ve got to fight too.
“It’s a home, it’s not just a council house. Whoever comes here will be paying the same rent as us.”
A spokesman for Luton Borough Council said: “We sympathise with Mrs Brown for her loss but the council has to follow strict rules to ensure it allocates its properties fairly and treats everyone equally.
“With over 6,000 people in Luton on the Housing Needs Register, we have to balance the needs of the community, many of whom have a severe housing need.
“Mrs Brown is living in this three bedroom property with her adult daughter who has recently returned to live with her, however, she has no legal right to the house as her father was the tenant.
“This type of property is considered to be a family sized home which is desperately needed in Luton for larger families.
“The tenancy has been terminated by the service of a notice to quit and Ms Brown is required to leave by December 26. We have delayed taking action until this date because Mrs Brown is registered on the council’s waiting list and is bidding for properties.”
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