Belfast mum distraught after being told she didn't have new social house days after being told she did

A Belfast mum says that she was left distraught after being told that she did not have a new social house to move into just days after being told the she did.

Single mum of two Caroline McManus has been living with friends for the past few months as she try to get a new social home for her family and said that she was "over the moon" when she was told by someone at the Choice Housing office that she had been accepted for a new property in Altona Drive, Lisburn.

Speaking to Belfast Live, Caroline, who has two children aged three and five with one having severe special needs, said that she had gone to the Choice Housing Offices after receiving a phone call saying that she is due to receive a letter about getting a home for her and her children and wanted to ensure that this was the case.

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She said that she was "over the moon" to be told by a member of staff that she had been accepted for a property, told her the exact address and that she would receive a letter shortly regarding this.

Over the next few days the mum felt that this was "too good to be true" and called the social housing provider a number of times and claims she was told that "if the office told her she had a property, then she would have one".

However, after going to have a look at the property over the weekend she was told she would be moving into, a neighbour said that another family had already been there looking at it, leaving Caroline very worried.

Then on Monday she rang Choice Housing again to find out what was going on and after trying to speak to someone for a number of hours, a staff member said that despite previously being told that she had a property, she actually didn't and that she did not have enough points to get one.

Caroline said that the news left her completely distraught and that she "went from cloud nine to rock bottom" in seconds and had no idea how she would break the bad news to her children.

She said: "When I was told that I had a property after such a long wait sofa surfing with my two children I felt that it was too good to be true and was desperate to have this confirmed so I went down to the Choice offices.

"When I was there the staff told me that our dreams had finally come true and we had been accepted to a property on Altona Drive in Lisburn and I was so excited to share the news with everyone because we had been through such a hard time without a home.

"Over the weekend I thought it would be a nice idea to take the kids up to see our new home but when we got there a neighbour told us that another family had been at the property saying they were going to move in.

"I was very worried after this and called Choice again first thing on Monday morning to get answers, but found it difficult to actually get speaking with anyone.

"Then a few hours later a member of staff told me that despite what I had previously been told on a number of occasions, we did not have a new house and that we did not have the points necessary to get one.

"It felt like my whole world fell apart and I went from cloud nine to rock bottom in seconds. My mental health instantly took a nosedive as I had no idea how to tell my children after they were so excited to finally have a new home.

"I feel the way that we have been treated this past week has been horrendous and there has been no regard for the impact that this has had on my children and I."

A Spokesperson for Choice Housing said: “Choice allocate all properties in accordance with the rules of the Housing Selection Scheme and whilst we are unable to comment on individual cases due to tenant confidentiality, we can confirm that any offer of housing is only ever provided in writing and is never provided verbally.

“Only a small number of properties have been released for allocation for this phase of housing at Altona Drive, Lisburn and it is expected the next phase will be allocated later in 2024 or early in the new year ”.

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