A COUPLE have told how they overcame multiple health scares and a rent increase battle to finally find a new home after years of living in a nightmare.

Andrew and Christine Greening, from Middlesbrough, woes began in the 1980s and continued up until this year before they finally found a property.  

In 2013, the couple’s worries took an unexpected turn as Andrew was diagnosed with cancer and had to embark on a lengthy period of treatment.

The eventual outcome was good, but in 2018 he received a further blow with a second medical diagnosis, this time with heart failure.

The pair have also had to manage mortgage rates increasing at record levels, while also managing their own finances.

In 1991, with payments starting to slip into arrears, they spoke to their lender and were offered a mortgage rescue arrangement in an effort to keep their home.

Christine said: “We took the mortgage rescue option because, at the time, they promised that we would just have to pay a housing association level rent and would then eventually be able to buy our house back if we looked after it ourselves, which we did for 25 years.”

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Throughout their tenancy, the couple were subjected to annual rent increases, resulting in them paying almost double the amount of some neighbours, and were left feeling ignored by their landlord when reporting issues with the poor condition of their property.

With Andrew’s health issues escalating, and with growing concerns about the condition of their home, the couple took legal advice to seek a solution to their rapidly worsening situation.

They successfully reached an out of court settlement with the landlord, but the legal fees had soaked up Andrew’s pension and savings.

Around this time, Andrew and Christine learned that their home of more than 30 years, which they’d hoped to buy back, had now been sold at auction to another private landlord.

The sympathetic new owner immediately dropped their monthly rent from £900 to £500 and offered to address all the disrepair issues, however he advised that any substantial works would have to be covered by future rent increases.

With little remaining from their savings and pension, the couple made the decision to seek a new, more affordable home with Beyond Housing.

Within weeks, having met the tenancy requirements and completed all the necessary procedures, Andrew and Christine were told that they had been accepted for one of the new bungalows.

Andrew reflected on the couple's experience by adding: “Beyond Housing was a breath of fresh air, a totally different ball game compared to other places we’d tried.

"I’d begun to feel bitter over recent years but I’m losing all that now. We’ve got a new start in a new home at last.”

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