Mother and daughter compelled to sleep in lounge after council places homeless household in one-bed flat | EUROtoday

Get the free Morning Headlines electronic mail for information from our reporters the world over

Sign as much as our free Morning Headlines electronic mail

Sign as much as our free Morning Headlines electronic mail

A mother-of-two has been compelled to sleep along with her daughter of their lounge for over a 12 months after a London council put the homeless household in a one-bed flat.

Sonia Monteiro, 44, is taking Hackney council to courtroom over their cramped dwelling situations, which she says are disrupting her kids’s sleep and talent to do schoolwork.

Ms Monteiro and her 12-year-old daughter are sleeping on beds arrange within the dwelling room-kitchen space, they usually wrestle to sleep due to a loud extractor fan. The pair are additionally disrupted if her 17-year-old son, who sleeps in the one bed room, wants to make use of the kitchenette.

Ms Monteiro, who works as a cleaner, stated the household are “living on top of each other”.

“My children fight when my son disturbs my daughter. We just need enough space so we can live in peace”, she added.

Housing help employee Elizabeth Wyatt is frightened that if the overcrowding is deemed acceptable within the courts then it is going to “have huge consequences for all homeless families”.

Ms Wyatt, from Housing Action Southwark and Lambeth, added: “London is facing the biggest homeless crisis in generations, with record numbers of children growing up in squalid temporary accommodation. Temporary accommodation standards and conditions are already appalling with homeless families having very few rights.

“Instead of going to court to undermine homeless rights, the council should be using their resources to find the best possible temporary accommodation homes while fighting alongside their residents for the high-quality council homes we need to end the housing crisis.”

open picture in gallery

Hackney council stated that, whereas it desires to offer each household of their space with a great, everlasting residence, it’s compelled to depend on momentary lodging to accommodate homeless households.

There had been 336,366 households on London native authority ready lists for social housing in 2024, a 10-year excessive. The London Councils’ group additionally estimates that greater than 183,000 persons are presently homeless and dwelling in council-provided momentary lodging within the capital.

Ms Monteiro, whose phrases had been translated from Portuguese by her buddy Teresa, advised The Independent: “I’ve told them that the place is not suitable for us, but the council is saying that it is. My son sometimes has to come in to the kitchen to use the table to study, as he doesn’t have a table in his room. He has to use the light to study and that disrupts us, sometimes he is just using the light of the phone.”

open picture in gallery

She added: “The conditions are really hard for all of us, especially my daughter. All this time she has not had her own space and it is really stressful for her. She doesn’t have a quiet place to study because we are living on top of each other.

“I feel like the council are using the legal process to keep us there as long as possible. It is stressful going to court and you feel like you are doing something wrong but I have no choice but to go through the legal process.”

Ms Monteiro got here to the UK from Portugal in 2020 to search out work as a cleaner and has settled immigration standing right here. The household was initially staying along with her sister who lives in London, however they couldn’t keep along with her indefinitely and had been made homeless over two years in the past.

open picture in gallery

They had been initially dwelling in a hostel, earlier than being moved into a distinct council flat. They had been then moved to their present flat, which they’ve been in for simply over a 12 months, Ms Monteiro stated. Her 12-year-old daughter, who didn’t wish to be named, stated: “In the first temporary flat we lived in there were a lot of mice and no privacy for nobody. But when we moved, I thought it would be better, but it is still the same.

“We don’t have enough space. My older brother has his own room, but me and my mum don’t. Even though we are both girls, we want our privacy. We sleep right next to the kitchen area.”

Ms Monteiro stated she additionally receives housing profit, common credit score and baby profit to help the household. “I hope that the court makes a positive decision for us. My daughter will be studying for her GCSEs soon and she needs privacy,” she added.

Hackney council stated they may not touch upon the specifics of the courtroom case, however stated: “We always want to provide every family in Hackney with a good, permanent home. Unfortunately, due to the severe housing crisis, we often have to rely on temporary accommodation to support households who come to us as homeless while we help them find a long-term solution.

“That’s why we’re investing in more council-owned temporary housing, where we can better control the conditions and standards. The space and size standards for temporary accommodation are clearly defined by law, to which we fully adhere.”