A single mum from Kingston said she was denied social housing by Kingston Council (RBK) after being led to believe she was eligible.

Georgina Cottee lives in Kingston and applied for social housing in April this year.

She was living with her parents at the time and was asked to leave the property by her father after their situation became too difficult to manage.

Ms Cottee and her mother both suffer from IBS syndrome which affects digestion, and in a letter sent to RBK, her father appealed to the council for help in finding her alternative accommodation after the family's situation became untenable.

"I went in (to RBK) in April to apply for housing and I was helped through with the form," Ms Cottee told the Comet.

"The person attending said I was eligible for a two-bedroom house and she said that within a week or two weeks 'you will get a code to (be able to) start bidding.'

"I rang up about three to four weeks later for them to then tell me that my case had been suspended."

Ms Cottee said she subsequently had to liaise with RBK directly to continue her case, and was eventually offered help to get temporary accommodation in a hostel — something far removed from the proposal RBK initially offered her.

Given her medical condition and situation raising her young son as a single mum, living in a hostel was not something Ms Cottee could accept.

"I've got a young child and they left me in the lurch.

"They just sounded like they didn't care. They had 28 days and they knew I was going to me made homeless," she said.

"They asked to me go back (to RBK) to be put in a hostel, but obviously with my gastro condition I wouldn't be able to share a bathroom and it wouldn't be hygienic for everyone else," she added.

In response, a spokesperson for the council confirmed they had met with Ms Cottee and were now offering to help her find temporary accommodation rather than social housing.

The spokesperson said: "Our Community Housing team have been working with Ms Cottee to provide her with support in relation to her need to leave her current accommodation.

"They have advised her to complete an online housing advice enquiry from and provide the relevant support information for the council to review her housing application.

"On May 16, Ms Cottee was advised to come to the council offices as soon as possible to meet with our housing officers to discuss the options available and to help her find temporary housing."

The spokesperson also referenced the soaring demand for social housing across London, in what had been described as a "housing crisis" recently.

"Like all London boroughs the demands for social housing has significantly increased in recent years, whilst the number of homes we can place families in remains limited," RBK said.

As the Comet reported last year, RBK has already committed to replacing 653 social homes, while extra money offered by the Greater London Authority (GLA) recently will allow them to build more.

At present, however, the lack of affordable homes in the borough remains a persistent issue.

Ms Cottee said the situation remains unresolved and she does not have a space of her own in which to raise her child.

"I'm still living with my mum and dad in Norbiton but it's really crammed. My mum has gastro problems as well and my dad looks after her," she said.

"Two people wouldn't be able to fit in the bathroom, it's so small and we just need that bit more space which is why I'm trying to move and get a real go in life.

"I physically can't get into the council. I need to work to get money to look after my son, I'm a single mum...the council worker said to me 'you'd rather come here than go to work' and I told them 'well, not really because I need money for food.' It's terrible they can do this to people."