A West London mum was told her rent was almost doubling by the council in what she feared was an act of 'retaliation' due to her speaking out against poor living conditions.

Earlier this month, Shanice Aird, 31, spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service [LDRS] about her 'mouldy and unsafe' temporary accommodation and a matter of days later she received an unexpected letter announcing the rent she must pay was increasing by almost £200 a week.

Shanice was left 'stressed' fearing Ealing Council had taken action to put up her rent as part of a 'personal vendetta' against her for going public on the housing issues. The council failed to reassure her and it took the LDRS requesting an explanation for the council to state the letter had been sent in 'error' and deny 'maliciously targeting' the mum for speaking out.

Shanice lives in a two-bedroom house with her three children, which is rented to her by the council. She currently faces eviction from the property and says she has yet to be offered any suitable alternative by the local authority.

The council had offered one property in Southall, however it was minutes away from where she witnessed the stabbing of a teenager, which is why she was moved to her current property. The incident has left Shanice with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The LDRS approached Ealing Council about Shanice's living conditions on Monday, April 7, offering a right to reply to allegations made by her. An article was published on Wednesday (April 16), and the following day (April 17) Shanice received a letter notifying her that her rent will be increased by almost £200 a week.

Shanice feared the letter, which is dated Friday, April 11, was in a retaliation to her speaking out. She said: "It made me feel like there is genuinely a personal vendetta against me from the council, because I haven't been one to put up and shut up with them.

A letter to Shanice from Ealing Council notifying her of a rent increase of almost £200 a week (credit: Shanice Aird).

"I've never received a letter like this the entire time I've been here… they don't want people to know what they're doing is incompetent and negligent. As a sort of government body they need to come across as professional and up to standard when in actual fact, they're not.

"It's almost like a scare tactic, if this was criminal proceedings it would be witness intimidation… they show no empathy, this is people's livelihoods, it's mothers and fathers trying to protect their children, we're all here struggling and from everyone I've spoken to this is how Ealing Council treats them."

In a statement to the LDRS on Wednesday (April 23), Ealing Council said the letter was sent in mistake and claims it would never target someone for speaking to the press. Shanice said: "They will say it's a mistake, but even still it is so negligent and impacts people's lives and stress levels. It has had me worried."

Shanice's rent prior to the increase was £230 a week for the two-bedroom house. The increased amount is £415 a week, despite the fact Shanice is due to be evicted so the landlord can repossess the property.

Earlier this month, Shanice told the LDRS that the housing system is 'broken'. She said that Ealing Council had failed in its duty of care for her family after putting them in a mouldy house with faulty electrics which had caught fire.

Ealing Council had also told Shanice that she was in £136 of rent arrears, something Shanice says is not possible. She told the LDRS that her housing benefit goes directly to the council, who rent her the property from her landlord.

She said: "It's impossible that I'm in arrears, they've pulled a random figure out of the air. The housing benefit is paid directly to them for rent, which is £230 a week. I have no idea where this came from, and they haven't been able to show me any evidence for this."

Ealing Council did not respond to questions put forward at the time regarding the rent arrears attached to Shanice's account.

In response to the letter about the cost of rent, an Ealing Council spokesperson told the LDRS: "We originally believed this property's lease was being renewed as part of a wider renewal of leases and letters were sent to all impacted households. Unfortunately, the letter sent to Shanice was sent in error as the landlord had requested their property back.

"An alternative property had been offered to Shanice however she refused to accept it. We will be making a further offer of suitable accommodation in the next six to eight weeks. Ealing Council would never and has never maliciously targeted someone for speaking to the media and we categorically refute this accusation."