The stories behind the ads

Mark's story

Mark had a successful career and a beautiful flat. Like many first-time buyers, he’d had to stretch himself financially to buy a place – and he’d thought it was worth it to get a foot on the ladder.

But with the credit crunch kicking in, Mark was suddenly made redundant. With all the stress of the situation, he broke up with his girlfriend, and was left to handle household bills and the mortgage on his own.

Within a short time his debts were spiralling out of control, and with the mortgage just two months in arrears, Mark’s lenders served a repossession notice against him.

With nowhere to turn, Mark is on the brink of homelessness.

We hear hundreds of stories like Mark’s every year.

Now is the Time to take action – help us campaign for more affordable homes

The Taylors' story

The Taylors rented their flat from a private landlord, who bought the property as a buy-to-let investment. When interest rates went up, the landlord felt the pinch and raised the rent on the flat – and the Taylors had to work harder to afford their home.

The Taylors didn’t know it at the time, but their efforts to meet the rent payments were in vain. The landlord’s finances were reaching crisis point, and he had failed to make the last three mortgage payments.

The mortgage lender has now taken action to repossess the flat, and through no fault of their own, the Taylors face homelessness. The first they knew of it was when the landlord gave them two weeks’ notice to move out.

We hear hundreds of stories like the Taylors’ every year.

Now is the Time to take action – help us campaign for more affordable homes

Alfie's story

Alife’s family were renting their one-bedroom flat from a private landlord. The flat was rundown, with damp patches on the walls. Alfie had no space to play and had to share a bedroom with his mum and dad.

Alfie’s parents couldn’t afford anything better in the private sector. In desperation, they contacted the local council to see if they were eligible for social housing.

They did qualify, but there was such a shortage of homes, thousands of families were already on the waiting list - Alfie's family won't get a council home for years.

The family are still waiting, and Alfie is still growing up in unhealthy, overcrowded conditions.

We hear hundreds of stories like Alfie's every year.

Now is the Time to take action – help us campaign for more affordable homes

Dee's story

Dee had rented a flat from a private landlord for two years, and she'd given him a sizeable deposit when she moved in.

When she needed to move to a different part of the city for work and gave her notice, the landlord insisted that he was within his rights to withhold all of the deposit.

Dee had kept the flat in a good condition, and was sure that any damage counted as ‘fair wear and tear’. She began to suspect that the landlord couldn't afford to give back her deposit.

Since April 2007 landlords have been obliged to keep tenants’ deposits safe in a tenancy deposit scheme. But Dee’s tenancy agreement pre-dated this, so her money wasn’t protected.

Locked in conflict with her landlord, Dee’s notice period came to an end and she needed to move.

Dee doesn't qualify for help from her local authority. Without her old deposit money back, she can’t afford to cover the deposit and the first month’s rent on her new place.

She desperately needs to find the money or a friend’s floor to sleep on, or she faces the streets.

We hear hundreds of stories like Dee’s every year.

Now is the Time to take action – help us campaign for more affordable homes

To respect the privacy of individuals, models have been used and names have been changed.