Alex R on 15 May 2021
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Q. What is your experience of home during the pandemic?
Big question of the week Housing I stay in a 2 bedroom private flat with my 14yr old daughter who has autism. The flat is very small. It is on the main road and the noise of the traffic overwhelms my daughter with autism. The rent is £600 a month which I struggle to afford as my daughter's benefit was reduced by DWP even though her circumstances are the same. We have no garden. During warm sunny days of lockdown we were trapped inside. My daughter's anxiety worsened going outside. I am jealous of those who have a back door to open and simply sit in the sunshine with a coffee. The small flat is cluttered with wet washing hanging to dry off 2 clothes horses and every door. It feels claustrophobic. We have no room for a table to work at for school work. Aberdeenshire Council built a new estate in Stonehaven which filled up very quickly from people out of town. There is a street of 4 in a block flats that have been sitting empty for 3 years but Aberdeenshire council refuse to rent them out as needing renovated. Not sure why they are still not touched. Council say we are adequately housed and are not a priority. My landlords want the flat back. They are bullying me to leave. I have no proof of this as they were in my home doing an inspection for the 1st time in 3 years. Last year the annual gas checks was 18 months late and finally done in July. The fancy kitchen units look pretty but are starting to show signs of a quick botch job, as the plumber said when he came to fix a leak under the kitchen sink. We are housed away from the housing estates near the school where majority of local kids stay. When the pubs reopened, the nightly banging on the windows of our ground floor flat has started back from those fortunate enough to afford to go to the pub. I find it difficult to be housed somewhere I would never choose if I could pay a mortgage. A mortgage would be cheaper but the banks refuse to loan me anything as I'm a single parent on a low income. Its isolating and having an impact on both my daughter and my mental health.
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