A grieving son loses court battle to stay in his home after 50 years of living there

2022-08-07 2 Dailymotion

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A grieving son has been left "destroyed" after losing a David v Goliath court battle to stay in the council home he’s lived in for nearly 50 years after both his parents died. Steve White, 53, has been told to vacate his childhood home within the next 28 days after being booted out of the property by his local authority. The lift engineer moved in as a child with his parents in 1974 and has lived in the three-bed semi in Bredon Avenue, Stourbridge, West Mids., for 48 years. But less than a week after his 81-year-old mother Janet died in hospital with Covid-19 in October 2020 he was issued with the notice as she had been the tenant. She had been the tenant and there no was no right of succession of the tenancy because of his dad's death a few years previously. Mr White says the ordeal took its toll on his mental health and left him on anti-depressants as he fought to to try and keep his home. He was hauled before Dudley Magistrates’ Court on Friday (5/8) for an eviction hearing brought by the council. But after just a few brief minutes of highlighting how depressed the threats to turf him out of the house had left him - he was hit with a court order to vacate the property. Judge Phil Mantle granted a possession order following an application by Dudley Council meaning he must find alternative accommodation in 28 days. Chocking back his emotions after the case, Mr White said he didn’t know what he was going to do. Councillor Laura Taylor-Childs, Dudley Council's cabinet member for housing and communities, said after court: “We know this is a difficult and unsettling time for Mr White and we remain 100 percent committed to supporting him through this process and offering as much help as we can. “We will be contacting Mr White shortly to discuss an offer of alternative accommodation following today’s court hearing.”

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