Milton Keynes tenant desperate to swap three-bed council house for smaller home left waiting in vain for almost two years

Despite thousands of families longing for a council house with three bedrooms, 27-year-old Jordan Wilson is still waiting to be moved out from her roomy home in Greenleys.

She first informed MK Council in November 2020 that the house was too big for her following the sad death of her mum Kerry from sepsis.

"My mum had been a council tenant there since the year 2000. I was brought up here and have many happy memories, but it’s just too big for me to manage on my own,” she said.

"I asked MK Council if they could transfer me to a place with just one bedroom and a smaller garden. I’m desperate to move but now we’re almost two years on and nothing has happened.”

Jordan has even contacted her MP and the Housing Ombudsman to try to speed things up.

"The MP either cannot help or is just refusing to. The Housing Ombudsman just keeps giving the council an extra 10 days when they don't reply.,” she said.

"I'm at the end of my tether. I’ve been living out of boxes for ages and the Bedroom Tax is crippling me.”

Jordan, who suffers from a disability that affects her blood pressure and causes weakness, says the council has offered her one alternative house over the past two years – a one bed home in Wavendon.

"I had to refuse it because it has stairs and I can’t manage them. Also, it was too far away from my mum’s grave in Wolverton cemetery. “

Earlier this year, Jordan decided to look for a private swap on Homeswapper, an online service for all social housing tenants.

She found the perfect place – a one bed home in Great Linford. The council tenant there has two children and is so overcrowded that she has to sleep in the living room.

"She came to see my house and loved it. There’s plenty of space and a park close by for the children. It was perfect,” said Jordan.

The council has 42 days to approve such a swap. But this time came and went before Jordan was finally given a reply – a flat cancellation of the swap.

"The council wouldn’t give a reason,” she said. “I’m devastated and so is the lady in Great Linford.”

The Citizen asked MK Council why Jordan’s case was taking so long and why the swap was refused when there is such a scarcity of family homes in MK.

A spokesman for told us: “The tenant was informed about the legitimate but confidential reasons why the home swap couldn’t go ahead at the time. We’re continuing to try to find a suitable property for the tenant and her refusal of the initial property will not affect this. There is a high demand for housing and we only have a limited number of properties.”

He added: “We would encourage the tenant to look at home swap again. We will also look at the previous home swap case to see if the circumstances have changed.”