A disabled woman in her seventies and her terminally ill son say they are "terrified" after being served an eviction notice to leave their Wokingham home.
Lynne Antink, 71, and her son Colin, 34, have lived in a chalet bungalow on Denton Road since May 2009. They fear being split up and moved into homes of multiple occupancy.
On April 24, just days before stronger tenant protections came in, they received a Section 21 no-fault eviction notice - a type of eviction the government banned on May 1. Lynne said: "They got it out very quietly, very carefully in the last week in April. We've got to the point where we're really scared now."
When the letter arrived Colin found his mother sobbing in the kitchen, went into shock and had to be given strong medication to prevent adrenal collapse. Lynne said: "No one has bothered to respond to my letters, my emails or anything from Co-op homes."
Both are registered blind, hearing impaired and have severe mobility issues. They rely on each other, carers and an adapted home with a stairlift, walk-in shower and wheelchair access.
The situation is particularly serious for Colin, who has terminal Addison's disease and kidney failure. Stress can trigger a life-threatening adrenal crisis requiring an emergency injection within minutes and a category-1 ambulance response. In the past, when he tried to move out he kept collapsing.
Middlesex Housing Co-op, managed by Co-op Homes, confirmed it plans to sell the property. Steven Wild, managing director of Co-op Homes, said: "As a small not-for-profit provider... [we] have to carefully consider the best use of all their properties... The sale of Denton Road will provide... new co-operative housing developments in West London." He added: "We have been in regular phone and email and in person contact... and will work with Wokingham Borough Council to ensure a suitable new property is identified."
Lynne disputes that and says they have been helped by the parliamentary office of Clive Jones MP. She said: "I have to be out by July 18, and I haven't finished packing yet. They can't throw us out on a park bench, surely?"
Ted O'Neill, Local Democracy Reporter
