A MUM stuck in Travelodge for five months with three kids and two beds says “it’s a prison” – slamming the council for “ignoring” her plight.
Sharon, whose name has been changed, fled her west London home in February to escape her violent partner.
Google mapsMum-of-three Sharon has been stuck in a Travelodge for five months[/caption]
She approached Hounslow Council for help finding emergency accommodation but was directed to neighbouring Ealing Council.
The mum-of-three has been housed with her kids in a two-bed hotel room at Travelodge Kew Bridge in Brentford.
Their room is cluttered with a travel cot and the few possessions Sharon could grab before fleeing her home.
She lacks essential home amenities – including any way of warming a bottle to feed her baby.
The family have have now been stuck in the room for five months while they wait for suitable council housing – with no end in sight.
Sharon told MyLondon: “When they first gave me a hotel I thought ‘Well, it can’t be that long’.
“I came here and I asked a lady ‘How long have you been here?’ – when she said eight months I thought ‘Oh my God!’
“It’s like an open prison, that’s how it feels, but I haven’t committed a crime.”
There is no suggestion of wrongdoing by Travelodge, which says it has told Ealing Council its rooms are not a substitute for a home.
The council is spending £700 housing Sharon and her kids in the Travelodge – where they have to move room every month.
Every week Sharon waits to hear whether the time has come at last for the family to leave – only to be told they have to stay.
Sharon said: “They are the worst council I have ever had to deal with – you email them and they just ignore you.”
The mum is unable to cook fresh meals or refrigerate milk in the hotel room – joking she is “sick of the sight of McDonald’s”.
Two of her kids attend school – but have limited space to do their homework in the small two-bed room.
‘NOT A HOME’
Travelodge said it has made clear housing homeless people in its rooms is “not a long-term solution”.
A spokesperson said: “Travelodge recognises the pressure local authorities are under.
“We know how difficult this is for them and for the people who desperately need a home.
“Travelodge carefully manages any bookings made by local authorities.
“We are in regular contact with Ealing Council, making clear that this is not a long-term solution as it is not a substitute for a home.
“Travelodge’s focus is on ensuring all of its customers have a high quality experience.”
‘NO ALTERNATIVE’
Ealing Council said the family’s plight was a “direct result of the affordable housing crisis”.
A spokesperson said: “Ealing is at the sharpest end of this crisis, with mortgage rates soaring, landlords hiking rents.
“Many other landlords are selling up and leaving the rental market altogether.
“This is forcing families like these into homelessness for the first time in their lives, giving them no choice but to turn to us for help.
“In the last year, more than 4,500 local households approached us as homeless, the highest rate in the region.”
The spokesperson added: “We have a legal duty to support almost 3,200 of them.
“Given the dramatic decline in the number of available rented properties and historically high levels of demand, there simply aren’t the homes for us to place people into.
“We are left with no alternative but to place people in expensive, inappropriate hotel accommodation.
“We have agreed to invest £150 million in properties so that we can start to move families out of such accommodation into homes.
“We have also recently leased an entire hotel which has the sorts of facilities and amenities absent from their local accommodation that families like these would benefit from.
“We can’t fix this overnight, but we’re taking every possible measure to deal with this crisis.”
‘MOUNTING PRESSURE’
Hounslow councillor Sue Sampson said: “We can’t comment on individual cases.
“However, Hounslow Council is committed to providing a safe and fair living environment for all its tenants.
“Our teams work hard to find the best solutions for the people who come to us for assistance.
“But given the ever-increasing pressure and demands on local housing services, this can take time.
“Hounslow Council works in partnership with colleagues at our neighbouring local authorities and we communicate with them regularly.
“Any household facing the threat of homelessness can approach any local authority for housing assistance.
“This council will then assess the application in line with homelessness legislation.”
Sampson added: “As part of this process, a local connection test is applied.
“If the borough is satisfied that the household has a local connection, they will refer the household to that borough area.”
Who is eligible for council housing?
YOU are eligible to apply for council housing if you are a British citizen living in the UK providing have not lived abroad recently.
Each council has its own local rules about who qualifies to go on the housing register in its area, but it is based on “points” or a “banding” system.
For example, you’re likely to be offered housing first if you:
are homeless
live in cramped conditions
have a medical condition made worse by your current home
are seeking to escape domestic violence
Once you are high enough on a council’s waiting list, it will contact you when a property is available.
Some councils let people apply at the age of 18, while others let you apply even sooner at 16-year-olds.
EU workers and their families and refugees may also be eligible.
A council house is reached through a points system, so depending on your housing needs, you may be considered low priority.
The council will contact you about any available property once you are high enough on the waiting list.
There is no limit on how long you can expect to be on the waiting list.