Widower asked to leave Glasgow flat weeks after his wife’s death

A widower who lost his wife to cancer last month faces being thrown out of his flat by the housing association.

Joost ten Wolde was asked to vacate the Glasgow property he shared with his wife Stacey just 14 days after he died.

Stacey, 39, died just six weeks after signing an agreement on the ground-floor apartment, but had not declared that her husband was a member of the family.

The Glasgow West Housing Association (GWHA) have now turned down their offer to take over the lease.

He said he was providing Mr ten Wolde with housing advice.

The widower, a Dutch national, said his wife would have thought it was an unfair system.

“I just hope that my story can help other people who are going through the same situation,” he said.

Mr ten Wolde, an engineer, married Stacey O’Brien in March 2022 after being together for over nine years.

Stacey had Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which makes a person susceptible to developing cancer. Her husband said that he became her primary caregiver for the last 18 months of her life.

It became more difficult to live in his high-rise apartment as his condition worsened. After several attempts, she managed to apply for a ground floor apartment in Glasgow in February of this year.

Stacey signed the lease on February 27. However, she did not add her husband’s name to the lease or state that he would be moving into the property.

Days before he was scheduled to move out, he was admitted to the hospital.

“She signed the contract and it made her incredibly happy,” said Mr ten Wolde.

“I wanted it to be the house of her dreams. Even when she was in the Marie Curie hospice, she was moving things around and painting them for her.

“But by the end, she was getting sick. When I told her I needed to put in a ramp, she said, ‘Don’t bother.’ I realized it was at the end.”

Stacey died at the hospice on April 14.

On April 26, Mr ten Wolde received an email from the West Glasgow Housing Association telling him that he had to return the keys 14 days after his death.

The email added: “After this date, a daily rental will be charged until all keys and fobs have been received.”

He applied for succession of tenure, but was denied Thursday.

In a letter seen by BBC Scotland, GWHA told him it was “satisfied” that the Colebrooke Street apartment “was not his only or principal home and that he is not a qualified person to inherit the tenancy.”

Ten Wolde said he had a “postal address” in the Netherlands. He hoped to stay at the Glasgow estate for three months “to grieve” before returning to his homeland in the summer.

He continued: “I have no problem paying two or three months’ rent in advance, but just let me stay here and creep along at my own pace.

“I just lost my wife and then three days before the funeral I got an email saying I had to get out of the house.

“The human factor is completely gone.”

The housing association based its decision on current housing legislation found in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.

Under the law, a person is entitled to “probate” to a social housing lease if they are considered a “qualifying person,” such as a spouse, co-owner, or family member.

In some cases, the applicant may be required to show that they have lived in the property for at least 12 months.

Mike Dailly, a defense lawyer at Govan Law Centre, said he believed the law treated people differently if they were spouses or civil partners.

He said the requirement that someone have lived in the property for 12 months did not apply if they were a spouse.

“There is no period of having to live in the property. The test is simply whether it was your only or main residence on the date of the tenant’s death,” he said.

GWHA said it was obligated to ensure that its decision complied with the law.

He said that he needed evidence of occupation of the property when there was an application for probate.

“When a housing application is made to GWHA, full details of all household members are requested,” he said.

“The importance of this information is confirmed before a housing offer is made; at the time of viewing the property, and again when the tenant signs the legally binding Scottish Secure Tenancy Agreement.

“It also explains the importance of keeping this information up-to-date during the course of the lease.”

He said he continued to stay in touch with the family and provided counseling and housing support.