ICAB’s compassionate solution for a family of six in their time of need

Sector/client:

Housing

Solution:

Serviced apartment & rental property

Image of child's room

ICAB’s housing team was contacted by Southern Housing after one of their residents experienced a devastating fire in their south coastal home. The family consisted of a mother with five children ranging from one to 13 years old, so it was imperative that suitable local accommodation was booked as soon as possible to avoid disruption to their lives.

Being in a very popular seaside town during the summer months, accommodation was in high demand and often booked well in advance. With ICAB’s expertise and access to a database of thousands of properties, a suitable home was quickly found.

Due to the size of the family, a serviced apartment was the most suitable option. Typically, serviced apartments are suitable for two to twelve week bookings and offer greater independence than hotels along with privacy, comfort and freedom of one’s own space. They are perfect for when the resident or tenant requires their own cooking and laundry facilities. This option was chosen, and the family stayed there for several months.

When it became clear that the restoration of their home was going to take a considerable amount of time, the housing association authorised a longer-term stay in a rental property. During the restoration process, the family had to stay in further temporary accommodation, sourced by the ICAB housing team with seamless planning well in advance so that despite all the inevitable upheaval, the family never had to worry about being without a roof over their heads.

Later that year, there was a period of two nights between leaving an apartment and moving into a rental property that meant the family would be without accommodation. Using its expertise, the ICAB housing team found a penthouse at a local hotel chain, and negotiated the cost to match that of a serviced apartment.  For those two nights, the family stayed there before safely settling into their new rental property.

The delighted resident left a fabulous review:

Trustpilot Logo

“Me and my children were in a house fire , we’ve been in a few apartments since and hotels so I’ve dealt with ICAB for some time , but last night the night before we were due to check in to the next the landlord of the property let us down and I was extremely emotional stressed and worried we would have to share a hotel room, I’m so glad I got Sohail from ICAB for this case handler as he literally in a matter of hours got myself and the children a 2 night stay in a beautiful penthouse as well as finding us our next apartment after. Not only did he do that, he was so kind, listened and worked hard in really helping us – making calls to me to check I was getting the information I needed. Thank you again for taking a massive stress of myself.
Anyone will be lucky to have Sohail as their case handler.”