Mum-of-three Nadia Zaman has been fighting her eviction by the council since 2021
By Josh Mellor, Local Democracy Reporter
Waltham Forest Council has lost a legal battle with a local mother it told to move more than 150 miles away.
Mother-of-three Nadia Zaman – a lifelong borough resident – has been fighting eviction from her temporary accommodation since 2021.
She was first housed by the council two years earlier, after the breakdown of her marriage left her unable to support her young children and pay rent.
However, in July 2021, the council told Nadia she had made herself “voluntarily homeless”, meaning it would no longer support her, after she refused to relocate to Stoke-on-Trent.
In a judgement released on 24th March, judges at the Court of Appeal ruled that Waltham Forest Council has a duty to house Nadia “as close as possible” to where she was previously living.
The judges said Waltham Forest lacked proof that it had tried to house her closer to London.
Nadia had repeatedly asked to remain close to her children’s schools, her mother and wider support network.
A statement on Doughty Street Chambers’ website said: “The decision of the Court of Appeal is important for the rights of low-income homeless families caught by high rents in their areas.
“Councils cannot simply assume that affordable accommodation is not available locally and place families many miles away.
“Families should only find themselves having to move far away if their council can demonstrate objectively that, despite its best efforts, nothing closer is available.”
Nadia is one of hundreds of struggling households Waltham Forest Council has told to move out of the city or onto the streets.
In December 2021, mother-of-three Izebela Kickoseka – who the council temporarily housed in Bexley – found herself homeless after refusing a two-year tenancy in Derby.
Izebela told the Local Democracy Reporting Service her eviction mired her in debt which she has struggled to pay off.
She added: “[The eviction] messed up my whole life and everything in it.”
Waltham Forest’s deputy leader and cabinet member for housing and regeneration Ahsan Khan said the council accepts the findings and will “look again” at Nadia’s housing.
He added: “We have continued to house [Nadia’s] family in Waltham Forest during the last 20 months.
“It is a national scandal that families like this cannot afford to live in London. With rents outstripping rises in benefits councils have no option but to offer homes outside the capital.”
Before Labour’s local election win last May, leader Grace Williams promised a £2m fund for a programme to support families struggling with housing costs.
However, last week, Cllr Khan confirmed that the programme has not started and is only in the “recruitment stage”.
Nadia has been contacted for comment.
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