We’re homeless because the council want us to give up our dog… it’s not fair – we’re completely broke
A HOMELESS couple say they’ve been left without a roof over their heads because they won’t give up their beloved dog.
John and Jenny Lillington claim the council has offered them places to stay, but only if they get rid of their pooch Dora.
They’re now being forced to use their life savings to jump between dog-friendly hotels and Airbnbs.
The London couple, aged 69 and 62, say their lives have been “stripped away” as a result of the cost-of-living crisis and they can’t bear the thought of losing their canine, too.
John and Jenny lived a comfortable life in the home they’d owned for more than three decades until 2020.
They were forced to sell up and start renting – then that fell through.
The Lillingtons said they spent much of last summer living in a tent, and are currently using their life savings to jump between temporary properties.
They said that’s because the Camden Council can’t house both them and Dora.
John said: “We are at present distraught, stressed out, anxious and we don’t know what’s going to happen to us.
“I don’t sleep or eat well, and we feel like we might not be able to continue for much longer.
“If we could get a flat, we would be able to rebuild our lives.
“We had to sell our car, I pawned my photographic equipment, my watch, and jewellery, just to keep a roof over our heads.
“We are completely broke and are living out of campsites and cheap hotels.”
The couple say they were recommended by council to stay at a hostel and claim housing benefits while waiting for social housing.
However, John and Jenny say this would mean giving up their seven-year-old pet.
The couple have now turned to crowdfunding to try to pull together the money to find a place of their own.
They’ve raised £13,400 through GoFundMe, but it’s slowly dwindling away as they keep having to pay for pet-friendly accommodation.
John said: “We really love her [Dora], and don’t want to lose her, if we did we would not want to live.
“But after a few weeks, it became clear that we weren’t being rehoused anytime soon.
We are completely broke and are living out of campsites and cheap hotels.
John Lillington
“So we turned to Airbnb as quite a few of them accept dogs, we are now paying between £80-£100 per night.
“We are relying on our GoFundMe to pay for this, if that stops I don’t know what we will do.
“We cannot sleep on the streets and don’t want to go into a homeless hostel and give up Dora.
“It’s very worrying.”
Jenny is currently on Universal Credit while John receives a small State Pension and the pair have a housing plan from the councill.
But they have been told there’s a long waiting list.
John added: “There is interim housing in place for situations like ours which we applied for, but we were refused as they don’t consider us a priority, even though it states on Camden Councils’ own website that age and vulnerability are a factor for interim housing.”
A Camden Council spokesperson said: “In Camden we work to try and prevent homelessness and resolve any housing issues that residents may have.
“We do this by working with residents to create a personalised housing plan, assessing the circumstances of each individual case as well as the information that residents provide to us.
“While we continue to review this case, we are working with the couple to find them suitable housing and we are providing help and advice to access other means of support.”