A disabled woman has hit out at a housing association after she spent ten years trying to move home.

Ruth Porter says she has been desperate to leave her bungalow in Chorleywood; so much so that she hasn’t slept in the house for two years.

Ms Porter instead prefers to sleep in the car with her two dogs, Lucy and Wooly, or stay on friends sofas because she is “too frightened” to sleep in her one-bedroom home in Copmans Wick.

The 45-year-old, who has autism, ADHD, and suffers from arthritis, says there is nothing wrong with her home but it is not the right place to help her “cope”.

She says the home is too “isolated” for her and although she drives, she struggles with the bungalow being up a hill.

She also says that when she needs support, it is difficult for people to get to her home because of poor public transport.

And after a number of failed attempts to move home, Ms Porter has had enough and slammed her landlord Thrive Homes.

She said: “It’s ridiculous and pathetic that I have been rejected all of these times. I need to live somewhere closer to my family and somewhere which is not isolated. When I moved, I was under the impression it was going to be a short-term move and I’ve been desperate to find another place for years and years.”

Watford Observer:

Ideally, Ms Porter wants to move to Abbots Langley, Leavesden, or St Albans so that she can be closer to her mother who lives in Bricket Wood.

But she believes a “discriminative” policy to designate some homes for people over the age of 60 has blocked her move.

Three Rivers District Council has recently prioritised Ms Porter’s case.

The council said this acknowledges Ms Porter’s medical conditions and the location of her current accommodation is having a “detrimental” impact on her health and wellbeing.

Thrive Homes said Ms Porter has been “very active” but there are no properties available in the area she wants to live, adding that the lady is “adequately housed in a good quality bungalow”.

Ms Porter’s only option seems to be through a home swap, which she has tried in the past but has fallen through. She currently lives in a one-bedroom bungalow, with a garden and parking.

Ms Porter says she is not fussed what property she lives in as long as it is in a location which does not leave her isolated.

If you would like to be involved in a house swap through HomeSwapper or Home Connections or know someone who might, contact us at nathan.louis@london.newsquest.co.uk