A desperate Perthshire mother is fighting to move her family from their overcrowded home.
For the last two years Louise Brown has been battling with the local authority to secure adequate accommodation.
The 33-year-old mother of three lives in cramped conditions with her family in a two-bedroom flat in Blairgowrie.
Ms Brown and her partner, Stuart Duncan, share with their two toddler daughters as their 11-year-old son requires his own room.
Under Perth and Kinross Council’s own guidelines, tenants are allowed one bedroom for each adult couple, any two children aged under 10 years and any two children of the same sex aged under 16 years.
However, Ms Brown claims that housing officials have deemed her property suitable for her needs.
“I’ve got two double bedrooms, so the council counts that as four sleeping spaces, which they said is fine for my family,” she said.
“We’re just living on top of each other at the moment and all the cupboards are full to bursting with our things.
“I’ve been told I might never get a bigger house and I just can’t bear the thought of living here for another five years.”
Although her partner works 60 hours per week as a lorry driver, Ms Brown told The Courier they cannot afford to rent privately, or go to the bank for a mortgage.
They are reluctant to move from Blairgowrie as Mr Duncan returned to the area to be closer to his family after four years in the armed forces, which included a tour of duty in Afghanistan.
Ms Brown added: “It’s getting to the stage where I’m phoning them every day. They say they can understand where I’m coming from but they can’t offer me something they haven’t got.
“The only advice they’ve been able to give me is to change my housing requirements on my application but that would only result in me being offered unsuitable properties, so it doesn’t make any sense.
“I’ve tried getting a mutual exchange but everyone I’ve asked has said they would rather pay the bedroom tax than move.
“I’m not getting any further forward and I think there’s something wrong with the way the council are allocating houses.”
A spokesman from Perth and Kinross Council defended its position, saying the local authority is experiencing “acute pressure” on the supply of housing.
The council blamed “limited available stock” for their difficulty in finding a new home for Ms Brown.
Specific requests can be difficult to meet, said the spokesman, adding: “Tenants wishing to remain in or relocate to a particular area which is already popular, like Blairgowrie, may find there is a low turnover of properties.
“We would be happy to have further discussions with Miss Brown regarding her current living situation and see whether there are any other housing options open to assist her at this time.”