Family on PIP and Universal Credit forced to sleep rough after eviction (2025)

The couple have said they shouldn't have to be "a druggie, an alcoholic, or an asylum seeker to be a priority and get help"

A family of three have been sleeping rough outside a town hall in Stoke after being evicted from their home.

Christopher and Lisa Dunn have been situated outside Hanley town hall with their 18-year-old son Kyle Smith, after rent rows led to them being thrown out of their home.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council have now offered the family temporary accommodation, but the family were left stranded after only being offered six nights accommodation in a Travelodge due to bad weather.

The newlywed couple, who are both on PIP and Universal Credit due to their disabilities, have said that their situation has left them scared after spending weeks outside the hall.

Christopher, 31, said: “I’m not being funny, but we shouldn’t have to be a druggie, an alcoholic, or an asylum seeker to be a priority and get help. We should be a priority based on our physical and mental health. Our need has been verified by the homeless charities and the police but they’re not listening to nobody.

“It’s been rough because we’re not druggies and we get a load of them coming up to us asking if we want to take stuff or smoke monkey dust. We see people talking to themselves or fighting the air.

"People have tried smoking crack pipes by our bed and we’ve had to tell them to go away. Our stuff has been stolen. It’s very scary."

The family were initially put up in Christopher's mother's house, but in March they left and appealed to the council for help.

Christopher said: “We were living in a Concrete property. It's a charity that offers special housing support for people that need it. But one day they tried to up the rent without giving us a new contract. So we tried to fight it, while still paying the original amount we’d signed up for. Then they gave us a Section 21 eviction notice, which meant we’d need to leave by the end of October.

“We informed them that we were getting married on 26 October and we were going on a two-week honeymoon afterwards so that we’d need to vacate the property in November when we got back. But while we were away the locks were changed and so when we got back we had no property to stay in.”

Christopher added: “I contacted the council and explained that we were now homeless. That we had nowhere left to go. They agreed to put us up in a Travelodge. After six nights, our stay ran out. We asked the council, ‘Well what do we do from here?’ and they said that the bad weather was over now, so that meant we were basically out on the streets.

“I told them that we needed accommodation because we are disabled, so they asked us for evidence. We provided all that to say that we were both on PIP and Universal Credit due to our disabilities.

"We provided the medical documents to say what illnesses we had to show we’re both classed as disabled. Then they came back to us and told us that it wasn’t enough. We spent our first night on the streets after that.”

Christopher suffers with vertigo, mini strokes, gender dysphoria, PTSD, schizophrenia, IBS, and severe back pain, whilst Lisa has osteoarthritis, incontinence, high blood pressure, depression, anxiety, and split personality disorder.

Christopher added: “It’s got to the point where people are refusing to let us use the toilets because we’re homeless. Unfortunately, that means some of the time we have to go in the bush and do it there. There’s been several times where my wife has had an accident because we don’t have access to a toilet. We don’t even have the bare minimum.

“It’s thanks to the general public that we’re even surviving. People giving bits for food and stuff. Four people actually got together the money to put us up in a hotel for four nights. At the end of the day though, the council needs to step up and do the same.”

The council have said that the family have not been given accommodation as they were not assessed to be in priority need

Councillor Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing, said: “The couple approached us on March 7, 2025. A homeless application was submitted and an assessment carried out - this assessment is set down in law and is carried out in the same way by every local authority in the country.

“Unfortunately, following this assessment of their individual circumstances and in the absence of any evidence provided with their application with regard to their health, it was found that the couple is not in priority need and therefore the council is not legally required to provide them with accommodation. The council was, however, able to advise the couple on the options available to them and signpost them to alternative housing providers. Our Rough Sleeping Housing Needs Officer is also supporting the couple while we continue our efforts to identify suitable temporary and long-term accommodation for them. If they can provide further information to support their application or wish to appeal our decision then we will revisit the assessment.”

Concrete, an accommodation service aiming to eradicate homelessness around Staffordshire, have offered further explanation for the situation.

Kerry Birtles, executive director of support and wellbeing, said: “We provided housing support to Chris and Lisa for over 12 months and during that time we experienced many breaches of their tenancy agreement, despite extensive offers of support. Sadly, we had no choice but to issue them with an eviction notice, but agreed to postpone this, out of goodwill, until after their honeymoon.

“Despite repeated attempts to contact them, over multiple weeks, they failed to get in touch. When we checked the property, it was virtually empty and we presumed they had left, so we started the process of repairing the home for the next resident.

“We offered Chris and Lisa the chance to retrieve any belongings, and we made a referral back to Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s homelessness services to ensure they received the right support. We always strive to achieve positive outcomes for the customers we work with, but sadly this is not always possible.”