Edinburgh resident spent nearly 5 years in temporary housing

In May of this year the Scottish Government formally recognised a national emergency, with over 15,000 people in temporary accommodation across the country.

Amanda Fyffe spent four-and-a-half years in temporary accommodation in Edinburgh before successfully bidding on a council flat in September last year.

Even then, she had to be willing to accept a two-bedroom house for herself and her three children who live with her.

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She told The Herald: "I’d been bidding constantly, I’d phone my housing officer and they’d say, ‘no, you didn’t get it this time’.

“I spoke to the housing officer and I said even though I’ve got three children and need a three bedroom flat, do you think I could get housed any more quickly if I was willing to accept a two bedroom?

“What I could do is maybe build a wall in one of the rooms so the two wee ones could have half a room each, my older son in the other room and I’ll sleep in the living room.

“They said that was fine but I had to put it in writing and send it to them, so that once I was in the house I couldn’t come back to them and claim we were overcrowded.

"There were times where months would go past without a single three bedroom property being available.

“That’s why I eventually went back to them and asked if bidding for two bedrooms would speed it up any.

“My oldest son is still at home, but he’s now 18 so there will come a time when he’ll leave home and then the kids will have a room each.

“So that’s what I ended up having to do."

Amanda Fyffe at her home in Edinburgh (Image: Duncan McGlynn)

Ms Fyffe and her children were given temporary accommodation in Annandale Street near the city centre through Private Sector Leasing (PSL) whereby the council rents properties from private landlords.

While she says the property itself was "really nice", living in temporary accommodation presents its own challenges.

Ms Fyffe says: "You never want to do anything like say to the kids, ‘next year I’m going to book us a holiday’ because you don’t know if that’s when you’re going to be moving.

“I know a holiday sounds like something simple, but it’s just an example of how you don’t want to commit yourself to anything because you don’t know if you’ll need that money for moving.

"The property we were in was sold while we were in it, and the landlord who had bought it had no interest in renewing the contract with the company we rented through.

"You just never know if your property is going to be sold and you’re going to have to move to another temporary accommodation, which could happen at any moment and you have no control over it.

"They do give you another temporary accommodation but you still have to go through all that stress and upheaval of moving.

“I have three kids, and when it came to my eldest, Robert, going up to high school we were allocated a place in the catchment area for our temporary address.

“So I was bidding for houses in the Leith Academy catchment but I couldn’t get him into Leith Academy because it wasn’t our catchment school.

“Little things like that are something people wouldn’t think of.

Amanda Fyffe at her home in Edinburgh (Image: Duncan McGlynn)

“We didn’t think we’d be in temporary accommodation that long, if I’d known that then I probably would have changed their schools but they told me it would be 18 months, two years maximum.

“So I kept them at Craigentinny to keep them with their friends.

“All my kids have Additional Support Needs, so too much change in one go is a bit too much. So I kept them at Craigentinny but if I’d known I’d be four years going back and forward then I’d have changed.

“It’s just those little things. Coming up for Christmas you don’t want to do too much Christmas shopping too early, because there’s a chance you’ll have to move all that stuff because you’re moving house.”

Ms Fyffe did eventually secure a council flat, after getting in contact with tenants' union Living Rent.

She said: "I was bidding for houses then I got a phone call from my housing officer saying, ‘I’ve looked into your case because I couldn’t understand how you were bidding for all these houses and never getting any’.

“It turned out that the housing officers who were in charge of those houses had taken it upon themselves to decide that it was too small for me and they were bypassing me.

“I was being allocated housing but not actually getting it, which was when I went to Living Rent.

“Because there was actual evidence - it was all in emails - that I had been bypassed for houses it meant they could take on my case.

“I think it was one of the quickest wins Living Rent ever had. The woman in charge of my case emailed the council on my behalf on the Tuesday, we got a response on the Thursday and I had an offer on the Monday. It was that quick.

"The house I got is riddled with dampness but there is a retro-fitting programme, so it’ll get fixed - but why let it get to that stage in the first place?

“Maybe if they brought some of that work back in-house and we went back to the days having a clerk of works who would go out and assess the problem, get the workers in, then came back and examined it before the work was signed off.

“It’s all contracted out, and there’s no-one coming out to check the work’s done.

“If they had in-house workers the council might have more control over the quality of the work.

"Overall I'm delighted though. We're getting new kitchens and bathrooms, because I think the kitchen is older than me - and I'm in my 50s!"

Edinburgh City Council's Housing, Homelessness and Fair Work Convener Jane Meagher said: "I’m so pleased we’ve been able to find Amanda a safe and suitable home. I wish her a lifetime of happiness in their new home.

“It can be very hard for people to find the right type of home for their needs, so I’d urge people who are in Amanda’s situation to not give up hope – to keep looking at all options and bidding for homes.

“Tonight, over 5,000 households will sleep in temporary accommodation because of the severe housing shortage we face, but our housing officers and homelessness support team are here to help.

"We’ve declared a Housing Emergency in Edinburgh and we’re working on solutions with our partner landlords, with the third sector and with housebuilders.”