Mum, dad and 4 kids stuck in tiny studio flat told they’ll have to wait 13 years for a proper house

The family have been on the housing waiting list since 2002

A family of six trapped in a single bedroom in East London have been told they won’t be moved into a bigger home for around 13 years. Mohamed Abubakar, his wife Rasha Al-Buriahi and their four children aged one to nine all sleep and eat in the same room of their studio flat, which is owned by Gateway Housing Association in Tower Hamlets.

The room is packed with a double bed and two single beds on either side. Every night the family will eat their dinner on the floor on a makeshift picnic mat because there is nowhere else to eat. Mr Abubakar, who works 12 hour night-shifts and has been on the housing list since 2002, has been regularly bidding for four-bed properties in the borough since 2017, but was told by the council that the average wait time is 13 years.

This means the family might not be able to move into a new home until 2030. The family have also been bidding for three-bed homes since 2020, but could be left waiting for nine years until they are eventually offered a home, according to a letter seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service

Mrs Al-Buriahi says living in the overcrowded flat is causing her eldest daughter to have a harder time at school, as she has fallen asleep in class because it can be so hard to sleep at night. The couple’s daughter, 9, told the LDRS: “I can’t sleep at night. I sometimes sleep at break but when I was in Year 3, I slept in lessons. I just keep on coughing. I can’t stop.”

Meanwhile the family’s front room, bathroom, kitchen and living room are all plagued by black mould and Mr Abubakar claims the flat has a rodent problem. They say they rarely have visitors because of their cramped and tiny home. The family try to stop their clothes from being destroyed by mould by shoving their belongings inside pillow cases, but Mr Abubakar and his wife believe the black mould is causing their kids to fall seriously ill.

The death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died in 2020 after exposure to black mould in his home, has left Mrs Al-Buriahi extremely terrified for her own children.

Mrs Al-Buriahi said: “When I saw his story, I choked. Why isn’t anything being done for my children? For three days I couldn’t sleep. I choked up because a child died.”

In a letter seen by the LDRS, a health visitor who saw the family’s flat said: “The family’s current address does not leave enough room for children to walk around the house, there are also safety issues around electrical cords protruding, and these can be easily pulled out by the children while exploring ‘their environment’.

“I am concerned that if housing is still an issue this might impact on the parenting, which in turn could impact on the baby’s lack of stability and inability to achieve developmental milestones.”

Mr Abubakar says he can’t understand how, despite bidding on multiple homes regularly, he and his family are no closer to being offered a new home. The family have been placed in Band 2A of the council’s housing register, which is for overcrowded and homeless applicants, according to the council’s website.

He said: “Every week I’m bidding, my question is where are all the houses going? How do all these people have priority, more than us? Some people have less children and they are a priority and get a new home – we don’t get anything.”

The family claim they can’t afford private renting because they can’t pay a large sum of rent upfront and it’s becoming less common for private landlords to accept people on housing benefits.

The dad-of-four said: “It’s difficult, it’s expensive. I was working full-time but now for only two days because of the company. I’m looking for new jobs but it’s not easy. At the same time I have to look after my kids and take them to school.”

The family claim they have reached out to the council multiple times, and both Tower Hamlets and Gateway Housing Association are aware of their living conditions.

A Tower Hamlets Council spokesperson told the LDRS: “We are sorry to hear about this family’s situation. Overcrowding is a serious problem for many families in Tower Hamlets due to a chronic lack of genuinely affordable homes. Around one in six households in our borough are classed as overcrowded, which is three times the national average, and above the inner London average where overcrowding levels are typically high.”

The spokesperson said the borough is experiencing a shortage of big homes and the council’s housing register has over 21,000 people on it, which is the third highest waiting list in London after Newham and Lambeth.

They added: “As you can see, overcrowding is a serious issue and one that doesn’t have a simple answer. But we are doing what we can to help people meet their housing need. We’ve set an ambitious target of delivering 1,000 new affordable homes per year, with a focus on family-sized homes. We’re also looking at ways to ease overcrowding using measures like knock-throughs and extensions.

“We encourage the family to speak to a housing officer about what alternative options may be available to them, like joining our Intermediate Housing Register.”

A spokesperson for Gateway Housing Association said they are taking “immediate steps” to repair the mould. The spokesperson added: “Gateway Housing Association is aware that Mr Abubakar and Mrs Al-Buriahi and their family are on the London Borough of Tower Hamlet’s waiting list for a suitable home. In the meantime, we have surveyed the home they reside at, and are taking immediate steps to address the mould.”