Disabled couple from Dacorum left homeless after retiring together

Phillip and Christine Halsey have been left without a home since retiring from their jobs this year.
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A couple from Aldbury say Dacorum Borough Council has left them homeless after they retired at the end of March.

But the council has said that it is committed to ensuring that all those in the borough that are homeless or threatened with homelessness have access to support and advice and are assisted with sourcing suitable accommodation that meets their needs.

Phillip and Christine Halsey, who both have medical conditions, had lived in a property at Castle Village that came with their jobs at the retirement community in Berkhamsted.

The disabled couple from Aldbury say the council has left them homeless after they retired.The disabled couple from Aldbury say the council has left them homeless after they retired.
The disabled couple from Aldbury say the council has left them homeless after they retired.

They moved out of their accommodation after they both retired from working in maintenance and laundry at Castle Village.

Phillip said: “Give us a house somewhere. We can't bid for one bedroom house. We want a two bed if we can because we're both registered disabled.”

His wife Christine said: “I'm not happy. It's very stressful. We don’t know whether we are coming or going.”

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A spokesperson from the Dacorum Borough Council said: “We have been working with the couple concerned in relation to their housing situation and have identified a suitable property for them.”

They added: “We have offered them the option of temporary accommodation until the property is ready for them to move into and we are currently in communication with them regarding this and any other support they may require.”

The couple say properties they have been offered have been unsuitable as they require ground floor accommodation as they have COPD and arthritis, and a garden for their dog.

Phillip said: “All they want to do now is put up us in a shared sheltered accommodation or bed and breakfast. We don't really want that, obviously. So we need a garden and they're sending us places that we can bid on that are two stories up – flats with no parking.”

Currently the couple are staying at a family’s house while they wait for their own place.

“At the moment the wife's brother has gone to Mexico for holiday for two weeks, so we're dog and house-sitting for them until he gets back and then nothing,” said Phillip.