Jane Maclot is now in temporary housing

A WOMAN has accused the council of not being aware of their own policies after a disaster housing swap left her in emergency temporary accommodation.

Jane Maclot, 60, lived happily in her home on Cruikshank Street, King’s Cross, for 30 years, where she brought up her children.

A council tenant with degenerative arthritis, she agreed to a mutual exchange in January, swapping to a ground-floor home in the same street that put less strain on her knees.

However, shortly after moving in, Ms Maclot discovered extensive damp in the new building.

A council inspection found the new property was too dangerous to live in and after a period of sofa surfing, Ms Maclot was moved into emergency temporary accommodation in the Finsbury Estate.

In May, the council asked her to surrender her tenancy to the damp home she had swapped into. Ms Maclot only agreed to surrender this property after receiving a letter pledging that she would be eligible for “a like for like property or a new build property”.

This letter, signed by a council tenancy officer, was enough to convince Ms Maclot to give up her tenancy. “I accepted it because I was in dire straits,” she said.

Soon after agreeing to terminate her tenancy, she received a council email saying her tenancy officer had made a mistake when writing the promissory letter.

Ms Maclot was informed that it was in fact not possible for her to move into a new build property, despite the wording of the letter.

“I couldn’t actually believe it,” Ms Maclot said.

“Incompetence doesn’t even cover it. [Islington tenancy officers] are in a job where they should be aware of their policies.

“The main crux of the matter is everything I agreed to was on the basis of this promissory letter. They’re saying they can’t offer me a new build property – you have to bid for new properties – but they never said that to me before.”

Ms Maclot, who works in a school, was still living in temporary emergency accommoda­tion this week.

She said the stress of the situation has forced her to take time off work.

“I feel anxious all the time. I don’t know what’s going to happen to me. I’ve lost a lot of weight from the impact of ­everything going on,” she said.

A council spokesperson said: “We apologise to Ms Maclot for the issues she faced at her property on Cruikshank Street, and for the distress that this has caused.

“In light of this, we have refunded Ms Maclot for rent she paid on the property, and have provided temporary accommodation at Michael Cliffe House.

They added: “We’re committed to continuing to work with Ms Maclot to resolve the issues that she is facing.

“Ms Maclot is welcome to apply, through our local lettings policy, for a new build property, and the council has agreed to also offer her a number of suitable two bedroom, ground floor properties in Islington.”