My name is Stefan Rotar. I am a single parent and have a severely disabled 13-year-old daughter called Sara, who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spastic tetra paresis. Sara's mother left home soon after she was born. She is a fun and happy girl, but she needs the support and intervention of adults for every aspect of her daily life.

For the last eight years, Sara and I have lived in a specially-adapted, local authority block of flats in the London Borough of Camden. Everyone in our block has been allocated a flat because of a disability; however, due to a policy at Camden Council, the last three years have been extremely traumatic and harmful for Sara.

Camden Council’s housing policy allows healthy household members in the block to own dogs and in our block a resident has a dog which barks excessively at all hours of the day and night. The Council have stated that this is not an issue unless a dog barks for 45 minutes continuously during the day. I have no concerns with people having specially-trained ability and support dogs; however, the anti-social behaviour from untrained dogs is not just annoying and upsetting for everyone in the community, the impact on Sara is far, far worse. 

Sara’s specific disability means that she is wheelchair dependant and can only communicate through non-verbal communication, so she conveys information without using words, relying instead on cues like facial expressions, body language, gestures, and eye contact. She also responds to sensory stimuli and so when there is elevated noise, it can cause her extreme distress.

Sara’s paediatrician has advised that for children with complex needs such Sara’s, the repetitive exposure of unpredictable and frightening sounds such as dogs' barking, can cause chronic stress and that can lead to epileptic seizures.

Sadly, Sara had her first seizure on 1 February 2025 and was rushed to hospital. She has since had her second seizure.

I am frightened for my daughter’s wellbeing and aware that just one more seizure in someone with Sara’s condition could lead to a heart attack or coma. I can’t wait until it’s too late, please help me to help her.

Over the last three years, I have repeatedly warned Camden Council of the risks that the barking poses to Sara’s health and provided them with medical reports from health professionals. 

They have not taken these concerns seriously and telling me that my daughter could wear ear muffs day after day does not resolve the underlying issue. My daughter is the youngest within the block and she is also the most severely disabled in the community. In this case her needs have been consistently disregarded and the council have done nothing to change their policy on dogs. They ignore our concerns that the noise must be a statutory noise nuisance under the Environmental Protection Act 1980 and the nuisance from continual barking is unreasonable and is putting my daughter's life in danger. 

What you can do

We need you to help us to take Camden Council to court.

We are seeking to raise an initial target of £12,000 so that our legal team at Barrister4U and our nominated barrister Dr John Brown can prepare Sara’s case and challenge the Local Authority’s policy.

I have tried my hardest to avoid court proceedings. I know that this is going to be stressful and at present it involves fees that we cannot afford. Although my mother was helping me care for my daughter, she passed away from cancer at the end of 2020. After she died, I stopped working to become Sara’s main carer.

I would appreciate any help you can offer to give my non-verbal daughter a voice and protect her human rights.

Thank you!

Thank you for reading our story, we are truly thankful for your support. If we are successful, this will create change not only for Sara, but for others with disabilities whose basic needs aren’t being met.

If you can afford to donate, we are extremely grateful.

If you can’t afford to donate, please kindly share this page and Sara’s story with your friends and networks.

Kind regards,

Stefan and Sara Rotar