Leyland woman has slept on friends' floors and sofas for 7 years while waiting for a council house

Debi Lepley has been sleeping on the floor of the one-bedroom flat she shares with her disabled mum since the coronavirus lockdowns in 2020.

Before that, she was registered as homeless and had spent four years sleeping on friends’ sofas while patiently holding out for a place of her own.

Seven years later, Debi is still on the council’s housing list, and she is beginning to think she will never have a place to call home.

The 32-year-old applied for a council home in 2016 and is seeking a two-bedroom residence for her and her mum, who Debi helps care for.

They currently share a small, one-bed flat at a retirement housing complex in Moss Side, which is managed by Progress Housing Group.

Debi isn’t technically permitted to live there, but with nowhere else to go she has had to make do with sleeping on her mum’s floor for the past three years.

The arrangement is far from ideal. Debi has fibromyalgia and suffers from pain which radiates around her body, leaving her feeling exhausted.

Last month, she salvaged a daybed which she squeezed into her mum’s living room – ‘a luxury’, says Debi with a wry smile. It was the first time she hadn’t had to sleep on the floor since 2020.

"My mum’s flat is far too small for the two of us, and I’m not even supposed to be staying here,” she said, adding that the lack of space causes tension between her and her mum.

Each week she bids on houses as they are made available, but says she has never come close to being selected.

"I’ve never been higher than 80th place in all the years I’ve been on the waiting list,” says Debi, who is swiftly losing faith that she will ever have a home to call her own.

"I’ve been waiting for seven years, and for the past three years me and my mum have been holding out for a place together, so I can continue to care for her.

"We don’t expect much. We would just like a two-bed place to share on a ground floor, but we’re not considered a priority. We don’t meet the criteria.

"We’ve thought about renting privately, but rent is so expensive now. We’d have to try and find £850 a month for a place in Leyland and we just can’t afford that.

“The situation is becoming intolerable and I can’t see a way out.”

Debi said the situation is beginning to seriously affect her mental health and she is struggling to stay positive with an uncertain future ahead of her.

"There’s no space. No space to think, no privacy. I’m a 32-year-old woman and I have my own health problems. This is not how I expected my life to turn out.

"It’s starting to have a real effect on my mind, my mental health, and no one at the Council can tell me that it’s going to get any better.

"I don’t think I’m ever going to get a place. But what then? Where do I go from here? I’m losing the will and there doesn’t seem to be any real help out there. I feel lost.”

What do South Ribble Borough Council say?

The Post asked South Ribble Borough Council about Debi’s situation and whether her experience is exceptional or an experience shared by others on the housing list.

Leader of South Ribble Borough Council, Councillor Paul Foster said: “It’s a real consequence of the cost of living crisis and the cuts in funding to help people who are in need of support that we do see people struggling to access the accommodation they may need.

"Waiting times for social housing properties vary, and while we wouldn’t comment on an individual’s circumstances, shortlisting is based on a criteria of bedroom need, banding, local connection and date of application, as all residents who apply for social housing are assessed in line with an allocation policy.

"Although it is unusual for someone who is in need of support to be waiting for such a long time, cases can be complicated, however, we recognise that there is an acute shortage of housing.

“We’re doing everything within our power, with key stakeholders, including speaking with Progress Housing Group about this situation.

"We’ve also stepped in ourselves and built high quality affordable homes that have just been completed in Bamber Bridge.”