When Alessandra was evicted from her rental in Hackney in April, she had mixed feelings. Originally from Rome, she had lived in the 25-square-metre studio with her three cats for 11 years, but it was damp, noisy and cramped.
In January, the boiler had broken, leaving her without heating or hot water. There were rats in the building. But on the other hand, the eviction left her homeless for the third time.
Alessandra, 59, who preferred not to give her surname, has received universal credit to help pay her rent for the last decade, with her £12.90-per-hour sales assistant salary not enough to cover her £1,191 a month rent and basic living expenses.
Shorts
She had looked for other places to live, but rents have risen faster than benefit payments. Being a single person without a high-earning guarantor made the task even harder.
