SKY- high rents and landlords' aversion to tenants on benefits have been blamed for creating a housing crisis in Christchurch.

Single mother Sarah Gadd, 35, faces becoming homeless next month when the house she has been renting in Portfield Road for two years is sold by its owner.

But an acute lack of social housing in the borough and the swingeing rents demanded in the private sector mean Sarah and her sons, aged nine and five, could be sent to hostel accommodation in Southampton or Dorchester.

And while the authorities would pay for the boys to travel to and from their schools in Christchurch, moving so far from the town would mean Sarah having to give up her part-time job as a school lunchtime supervisor.

She said: "I don't blame Twynham Housing Association for not having enough properties, who I do blame are the agents and landlords that charge so much and discriminate against people for having a low income and needing a bit of help paying their way."

"How much is it going to cost the taxpayer to pay for taxis from Southampton twice a day while I lose my job so I am on benefits at even more cost to the taxpayer."

Sarah added: "I have been trying to find somewhere but it is almost impossible when they discriminate against single parents. It is not my choice that I am a single parent."

She was offered a two-bed property at £695 per calendar month and required to pay one month's rent in advance as well as a £750 deposit and £150 administration fee.

"Where are we supposed to get that kind of money from?" she said.

Christchurch council's housing enabling officer Joanna Taylor-Lee said rents levels reflected property prices in the borough which meant they were sometimes higher than the average for the conurbation on which rent benefit levels were based.

She said her department worked closely with landlords and letting agents to encourage them to take tenants on benefits and the council operated a rent deposit advance scheme which had helped some 125 families move into private rented properties.

But latest figures showed there were more than 2,300 families on the housing register which was growing by an average 70 new applications each month while just 10 families were housed in the last month.

"There are just not enough properties for rent but we are trying our best," she said.

First published: November 2, 2005