A family of eight are living in a two-bedroom flat, which the mum says is leaving them 'stressed' and 'drained'. Ms Laima moved into the flat 17 years ago when she had just one child, but now her family has grown and the 37-year-old and her partner now five more children.
The mother, who asked to be known as Ms Laima, lives in Hackney London. Her flat is part of the Metropolitan Thames Valley housing association. “We’re overcrowded - we shouldn’t be living like this,” the mum-of-six told MyLondon.
“Me and my partner co-sleep with my two-year-old and my four-year-old, and then in the same room I’ve got my six-year-old in his cot, which he’s outgrowing. And then in the next bedroom, I've got my 18-year-old and my nine-year-old sleeping on the bottom bunk, and the 10-year-old on the top bunk.”
Aside from the overcrowding, Ms Laima also claims the flat is in a general state of disrepair. She claims the front door lock is broken due to rust - an issue she claims Metropolitan has yet to resolve. “We’ve told Metropolitan that the door is actually a fire hazard, so if we need to get out, we can’t,” Ms Laima said.
Additionally, Ms Laima also claims there have been significant damp and mould issues which recur throughout the flat. She said these issues are “impossible” to resolve, as two of the windows in the flat don’t open, making it difficult to access fresh air.
Ms Laima said: “I think [Metropolitan] are just ignoring me. I’m just stuck in this position, until I have to make complaint after complaint. I don’t want compensation, I want them to fix the works in the flat. We shouldn’t be living the way that we are - why does it have to take months and months for things to get fixed?”
In an attempt to escape her current property, Ms Laima has been looking to find a new home with more space through the Hackney Choice lettings scheme. According to the Hackney Council website, this scheme allows “applicants on the housing waiting/transfer list to have greater control over where they live. You can apply for advertised properties, rather than wait to be allocated a home.”
Ms Laima claims she has been using this system for some time, but to no avail. “For the past three weeks with Hackney Council, no properties have come up on their system, so I've not been able to bid,” she said. “It’s a nightmare. I feel like my voice isn’t getting heard anywhere, like I’m hitting my head against a brick wall, whether it’s through Hackney Council or Metropolitan.”
The mum-of-six also claims that, when properties have been available on the system, she has been placed in a queue behind hundreds of others also looking for a home. Ms Laima voiced her view that the “cramped” living situation has had a detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of her family.
“We’re not living in a third world country, we’re in Hackney. My kids have got no space to do their work from school, they’ve got no space to spend time and play, because there's so many of them.
“My 18-year-old, she’s rarely at home. She doesn't study at home, so some weekends she stays at her friend’s because of lack of space. This is nearly every weekend. She’s always out, she just knows that the situation is what it is and we’re just stuck here until we get moved. It’s a frustrating situation. I don’t know where to turn anymore.”
Ms Laima suffers from asthma, as do two of her children. She claims the persistent mould and damp issues in the flat have aggravated their conditions, and even claims her children have been hospitalised in the past due to these health concerns
“I’m so stressed and drained,” she said. “You speak to all these professionals, but it just feels like no one is listening. There are a lot of people in my situation, but I can only speak for my own family and how we’re living, and I honestly think we shouldn’t be living like this. If there is light at the end of the tunnel, I’m just waiting to see that light.”
A spokesperson from Hackney Council said: “We would of course prefer to provide a suitable, permanent home to every family that needs it, and we are acutely aware of the difficulties faced by Ms Laima and the 8,500 other families on our housing waiting list.
“Despite leading the way in delivering a new generation of Council homes in Hackney, our waiting list includes approximately 2,500 households in need of a 1 bed home, 3,000 in need of a 2 bed, 2,400 in need of a 3 bed and 600 in need of a 4 bed/5 bed.
"Last year only 409 homes became available of which only seven were 4 bedroom or larger which is what Ms Laima is seeking. The estimated waiting time for a 4 bedroom home is 13 years.
“There are a range of other options available to residents including the mutual exchange scheme, enabling people to apply to exchange properties with other Council tenants in Hackney – or another Council, housing association, or other housing provider, in London and across the country. All of the options available can be found on our website. If Ms Laima contacts our Housing Advice service we can arrange an appointment to go through these options in more detail with her.”
A spokesperson from Metropolitan Thames Valley said: “Quite rightly, Ms Laima expects her family to be able to live in comfortable conditions. We strongly sympathise with the issues they are facing and have been working to rectify them. However, we apologise that this has not yet been achieved. We have been in discussion with Ms Laima for several weeks to arrange damp and mould treatment. However, on her request we are first replacing the windows, which are scheduled to be fitted by the start of July.
“We have also been liaising with contractors since last month to carry out the necessary work to fix the front door lock. This is scheduled to be completed within the coming days and we will arrange a suitable time with Ms Laima for this to happen.
“For some time, we have advised Ms Laima to apply for an internal housing transfer to an alternative MTVH property. We are of course happy to support her should she wish to proceed with this. In the meantime, we will continue coordinating with Ms Laima to complete the necessary work which will enable her and her family to live more comfortably.”
