Adriana Kassakova, 53, and her two children were evicted from their Ealing home of 20 years in a no-fault eviction, and were placed in a filthy house by the council
A family who claim they were effectively forced into living in a squalid home plagued with rats and blood stains say they have been abandoned by their local council.
The trio, including a 14-year-old boy soon to sit his GCSEs, were made homeless when their landlord evicted them without fault from their home in Ealing, London, where they had lived for 20 years. In a letter to Ealing Council a year-and-a-half earlier, the landlord praised the family as ideal tenants who always paid their rent on time and had enhanced the property.
But even though the council had notice of the looming eviction, Adrianna Kassakova and her family received no assistance until they were actually evicted. This limited their choices and making them feel compelled to accept the housing offer – despite the filthy conditions – or face homelessness.
Adrianna, a 53-year-old former chef, and her children were temporarily accommodated in a room at a bed and breakfast before being relocated to this new property in Hayes, reports MyLondon. Upon moving in, the family alleges they discovered mould and bloodstains on the curtains, rat droppings, a collapsing ceiling, and overall filth throughout the property, which also had faulty fire alarms.
The family claims they were essentially coerced into signing a tenancy agreement under the threat of losing their council housing rights, and resorted to couch surfing with friends. After weeks, they felt no choice but to find a home in the private sector.
Adriana’s daughter Vanessa told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the family felt “totally ignored” by Ealing Council. She claimed that a complaint she lodged was meant to be looked into on July 7 but she has received no reply.
She said: “The last form of contact we received was from our our housing officer telling us to look private and apply for Discretionary Housing Payments (DHP) as we are eligible.” Vanessa said she submitted her DHP application over two months ago and has still heard “nothing”.
‘The whole system has failed us’
The first communication she claims to have received from Ealing Council since the nightmare began was a phone call from the authority asking if they were still residing in the bed and breakfast in Ealing – despite having vacated the property on April 20. She added: “The whole system has failed us!
“We still can’t swallow what has happened and we’re completely mind blown that they left a disabled woman and underaged child homeless. It’s disgustingly shocking how we didn’t even exist to them and how we were just abandoned.
“Mum has been permanently scarred by this and no one will ever understand what we had to endure.” A former chef, Adriana suffers from multiple medical conditions including osteoporosis, arthritis, and severe depression.
During an interview with the LDRS when they were placed into the filthy property, Adriana stated: “They said if we don’t take the house we will be making ourselves intentionally homeless, they threatened [homelessness] and [effectively] forced us into signing the contract… but we can’t stay there… the blood, the rats, the poo… I can’t even think about it.
“My son was so terrified he ran away, so hysterical, I had to spend time looking for him, I collapsed… It was awful.” She likened Ealing Council’s behaviour to ‘a gang, in cahoots with slum landlords’, alleging that her housing officer told her ‘don’t worry about the rats, they only come at night’.
Adriana’s daughter, Vanessa, added: “They even told us we can have a property quicker if we move miles away, out of London. We can’t do that.
“I work, my brother is about to sit his GCSEs soon, in a school they’ve already moved him an hour away from.” Councils have a legal obligation to assist certain individuals facing homelessness, but can fulfil their responsibility if someone is considered to be ‘intentionally homeless’.
Forced away from their community
Yet with the devastating housing crisis gripping London and the entire nation, that label is occasionally being applied to people who decline a relocation, even if agreeing would disrupt their entire existence and abandon them without support in a completely new area, forcing them to seek new employment and schools for their children.
Adriana and her household initially discovered approximately 18 months ago that their landlord planned to issue them a Section 21 notice and the council received an outstanding reference for the family as tenants. Vanessa said: “In a year-and-a-half they [Ealing Council] never put us through as homeless or becoming homeless, they did nothing until we were evicted.
“We had to call children services to get any help, they haven’t even done a medical assessment of mum.” Adriana’s health demands particular housing needs, including ground floor access and minimal stairs.
An Ealing Council spokesperson explained that they can only relocate families into temporary accommodation once they are legally homeless. The “pressure on affordable housing” means it’s not always feasible to arrange a new home for families in advance, as there is always another family with more urgent needs.
Adriana claims that when she tried to contact Ealing Council, she asked them to speak to her 27-year-old daughter, whose English is better, particularly with technical terms. However, she says the council declined, which she found “discriminatory”.
London’s housing crisis continues to bite
Vanessa expressed her frustration to the LDRS: “We feel ignored, everyone ignores us, every email, every call. It’s like we don’t exist. We just want a clean, safe space.
“We don’t want to be ripped from our support network. We have our doctor’s, our therapies, my brother’s school… we’ve lost hope.”
A spokesperson for Ealing Council said: “We apologise for the delay in responding to Miss Kassakova’s complaint. Our housing service has received a high volume of correspondence, and we are working to issue a response as soon as possible.
“We have contacted Miss Kassakova and established that she has sourced her own accommodation. We remain committed to supporting residents in housing need and ensuring appropriate accommodation is provided.”
At the time of Adriana’s eviction, the authority’s spokesperson said: “Supporting our most vulnerable residents is a top priority for Ealing Council and we are sorry to hear the challenging circumstances this family is facing. Our borough is facing an acute housing crisis. It is one of the least affordable places for housing in the country, and just 2% of privately rented homes are affordable for people on local housing allowance.
“Demand greatly outstrips supply and there are simply not enough affordable homes here for everyone who needs one. As a result, we are now providing temporary accommodation for around 3,000 families.
“This family was lawfully evicted from their home by their landlord. We have one of the best records in the country for preventing homelessness, and we engaged with the landlord to attempt to revoke the eviction notice, but the landlord declined, and the family became homeless.
“Although their circumstances may now have changed, at the time the family was in a low priority band for social housing, so the only realistic option remaining was privately rented accommodation, funded by the council. While we aim to place most families within, or close to the borough, the shortage of suitable local options means that some households may be placed outside of the borough if it is in their best interests or at their request.
“Temporary accommodation that met our minimum lettable standards was found and the family moved in. We understand the resident feels the accommodation is unsuitable for her needs, and her medical information is currently with our medical advice partner who will review the suitability of the accommodation and act accordingly.”
In response to the allegation that a council officer told them not to worry about rats, a spokesperson stated: “Ealing Council takes all concerns about the conduct of its officers very seriously. If anyone feels they have been treated inappropriately, we encourage them to submit a formal complaint through the established channels. This ensures the matter can be properly investigated in line with the council’s policies and procedures.”