Couchsurfing retiree in Norfolk talks about being homeless

A homeless pensioner has told how difficult it is to sleep on a friend’s sofa since she retired.

Freda Wellington lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, until she was served a no-fault eviction.

The 66-year-old said the loss of her home left her feeling like a “nervous wreck.”

Research for homelessness charity Shelter has found that private tenants over the age of 55 in England receive eviction notices every 16 minutes without a fault.

Mrs Wellington, a mother of two, moved into a one-bedroom house in Great Yarmouth nine years ago after their relationship ended.

In March 2023, the landlord said he wanted to increase the rent.

The retired telephone support worker asked if she could renegotiate the £50-a-month increase but was later served with an eviction notice.

“I was a good tenant, didn’t miss any payments at all, that’s what hurt.”

She was granted a no-fault eviction, which allows landlords to repossess their property even if there have been no problems with the tenant.

She said she felt like a “nervous wreck” at the time because she didn’t know where she would live.

After staying in a hotel paid for by the municipality, the pensioner now sleeps on a friend’s couch.

She described her relief at being able to clean her clothes for the first time in six weeks, which she said was “difficult” because she is “a very clean person”.

She said she was glad she had somewhere to spend the night, but she “tossed and turned” and was awake on the couch most of the night.

“It’s not a good feeling when you’ve worked hard all your life to end up in this situation.”

She said she understood that landlords are running a business, but they need to be more accommodating to older tenants.

“I was looking forward to retirement and didn’t expect this to happen.”

Research for the homeless organization Shelter shows that 400,000 older tenants are afraid of being evicted.

The charity said private renters over the age of 55 in England are hit with a no-fault eviction notice every 16 minutes.

Polly Neate, Shelter’s chief executive, said that rather than finally enjoying their retirement, pensioners are “living with the constant fear of homelessness hanging over their heads”.

“With private rents soaring and no-fault evictions happening, too many older people are becoming homeless because there is not enough social housing available and private rent is simply too expensive.”

The latest government figures show that there were 9,700 people over the age of 55 who owed a prevention or assistance obligation, known as homeless or homeless.

In Great Yarmouth, there are currently 956 households on the council’s social housing waiting list with a further 902 new applications to be assessed.

Mrs Wellington was offered accommodation by Great Yarmouth Borough Council but turned it down saying it was not suitable due to her health problems.

A spokesperson for the council said it has a legal obligation to support homeless people and applicants’ medical details are taken into account to ensure a suitable property offer is made.