A west London man whose mum died of cancer is facing eviction from his childhood home because of tenancy succession rules.
Kyle Rolfe, 25, says Ealing Council is asking him to leave the Hanwell property he’s lived in since he was three years old because the tenancy was transferred to his sister who has now moved out. Under the UK’s succession rules, a council home can only be passed on once.
After “doing the right thing” in letting the council know his sister was moving out, Kyle started receiving communications informing him he needed to vacate the property where his mum’s ashes were scattered in the garden and where he’s created a mini memorial.
He told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS): “Being here, I feel like I’m with my mum… I feel like I’m losing her again, I want the council to help me keep all I have left of her, because without it, once the house is gone, I’ll have nothing left.”
In 2022, Kyle’s mum Tracey found out she had cancer. After a short battle against the illness, she sadly passed away only days later, leaving behind Kyle, his older sister, and younger brother. Only 22 at the time, Kyle took it upon himself to look after his younger brother until he turned 18.
“Mum had been in the process of going through the right to buy scheme, so we’d be able to have security in our home. We didn’t expect her to go so quickly,” Kyle said.
Following his mum’s sudden death, Kyle says the council “quietly” succeeded the tenancy to his sister, who he claims wasn’t made fully aware of the implications.
Kyle said: “Earlier this year, my sister decided she wanted to do her own thing, and move into her own place with her partner, so we did the right thing and informed the council to change the name on the tenancy.”
It was at this point that Ealing Council informed Kyle that he will have to vacate the property. Despite numerous attempts to contact the council Kyle says he has been ignored, apart from a few letters which begin with “Dear unauthorised occupant…”
“Addressing me as ‘unauthorised occupant’, in the home I grew up in, the home I looked after my mum in, was quite difficult. I’m still struggling with losing her, grieving… I’ve been trying to turn it all around but it’s been really hard.”
The two-bedroom house was, until recently, fully occupied by Kyle and his younger brother. He told the LDRS that his brother, so worried about eviction, left. A letter seen by the LDRS indicates that Kyle has until October 22 to vacate the premises. If he does not, legal action will be considered.
Kyle said: “What they’re doing has cost me everything, it’s cost me my family, my partner, and it might cost me my job. I feel like I’m just crying for help, I never miss a rent payment, council tax, or any bills.”
An Ealing Council spokesperson said: “We are sorry to hear about Kyle’s situation and understand this must be very difficult for him. National laws mean that council tenancies can only be handed down within a family once. This rule was introduced to stop publicly owned property being passed from generation to generation within one family regardless of the needs of others in the borough.
“In this case, the property was handed down from Kyle’s mother to his sister when she sadly passed away in 2022, which Kyle agreed to. Kyle’s sister told us that she wanted to quit her tenancy, which is due to end on October 20. When we serve a notice to quit we address letters to ‘unauthorised occupants’ because there may be people living at the property we are unaware of. Going forward, once an account has been set up in Kyle’s name, future letters will be addressed to him.”
Kyle has now submitted a rehousing request with Ealing Council and is awaiting an interview. The council said “no actions will be taken to gain possession of the property until the outcome of Kyle’s rehousing assessment” which may give him more time.
However the council added: “Due to the huge number of people on our housing waiting list, his case will only be agreed if he has vulnerabilities or particular circumstances that make him eligible for a council property.”
Kyle said in the meantime he is struggling. “Some mornings, I don’t know what I’m fighting for anymore, I get scared to leave the house in case I come back and they’re changing the locks – I get so anxious. It’s destroying my life.”
The spokesperson for Ealing Council added: “Unfortunately, if his rehousing application is refused and he fails to leave the property, we will have no choice but to regain possession of the property through the courts.”
Kyle set up a petition on change.org in hopes of convincing the council to let him stay in the home. The petition has garnered over 300 signatures.
